Life is Fickle Like That
by Breanie
Summary: 4th in the Beginning Series Rewritten : Harry and Ginny have a family now and they learn that with the children growing up they have new tasks to discover and both good and bad news to cope with.
1. The Prank

**Life is Fickle Like That**

Written: November 2007

**Chapter I - The Prank:**

"**Please** Mum! Can't you see how great it would be? Daddy would never expect it." Keira Black begged as she diced onions at the counter next to her mother. She was sixteen and dying to have her boyfriend over for dinner. The problem was that she hadn't figured out how to tell her father as of yet.

Sirius Black was very overprotective and seemed to think that her dating before the age of thirty was completely out of the question. He didn't even like it when she wore shorts – claimed it caused too much attention.

Alexis Black sighed as she looked over at her daughter. Keira had grown into a beautiful young woman and Lexy knew that Sirius tended to go a little overboard when it came to his daughters. Lexy figured it was because he had been such a player in his youth and he knew exactly what to warn them about. But Daniel was such a nice boy and it was obvious that Keira was crazy about him.

"Keira, I just don't know if pranking your father this way is the way to tell him about your boyfriend," Lexy replied.

Keira sighed as she tucked her long, dark black hair behind her ears. "I know, but would he listen any other way, without lecturing?"

Lexy shrugged. Her daughter did have a point. "That I don't know, honey." At Keira's sad face, she sighed. On second thought, pranking her husband was definitely worth seeing. It was time Sirius got a little wake up call on being an overprotective father. "Alright, but it better be worth it."

Keira grinned and hugged her mother tight. "Thanks Mum! You're the best!" She kissed her mother's cheek before she hurried upstairs.

Lexy watched her go and sighed. If her daughter was going to prank her father then the least Lexy could do was make sure everyone was there to see it. She headed over to use the floo whistling.

**Harry **could only grin as he urged Ginny to hurry up. The idea of Keira, the daughter of one of the best pranksters, planning on pranking her father was bound to be good. He sat on the bed and watched his wife as she changed her clothes.

"I can't believe that Sirius has no idea they're dating. They've been together for almost three months. Everyone saw it coming." Harry replied as he tilted his head to get a better view of his wife's backside.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him in the mirror. "Harry, Sirius doesn't want to think about that. He's very overprotective."

Harry nodded. "Well, his daughters are beautiful. Keira's sixteen now and Dakota's fifteen. According to Dan, it's not only Keira who has guys all over her. Aurora looks just like Lexy and Ariel and Jasmine are starting to become really beautiful too. When Bryan goes to Hogwarts he's going to be beating the boys up a lot."

Ginny laughed. "Bryan is not going to be as protective of his sisters as some brothers, I would think. What are you going to do when Brie starts dating?"

Harry paled as he thought about his little princess. Aubrey was twelve years old now and she was beginning to grow up, he knew that. "I won't have to worry about it, Jay and Brig will make sure the guys stay away."

Ginny rolled her eyes before she turned and sat down on his lap. "They won't protect her forever, Harry. Aubrey will tell them off or bat bogey them."

He grimaced and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Leave it to our daughter to pick up on your skills."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Mother knows best." She leaned in to kiss him just as their bedroom door opened and Aubrey came in with their second youngest son Flynn in her arms.

"Oops, sorry Daddy."

Harry grinned at her. "It's alright. Did Flynn just wake up?"

Aubrey nodded as she handed her brother over. "Yeah, I think Rory woke him. Gwen and Rhi wouldn't let him play and he started crying. Jay convinced him to play with some trucks though. Aidan is still asleep."

Ginny smiled and stood up to kiss her daughter. "Thanks sweetie. What kind of trouble have your brothers been getting into?"

She grinned mischievously. "Nothing much. Jay and Brig are anxious to see Uncle Sirius get pranked."

Harry nodded. "Uh-huh, and what are Keegan and Cierán doing?"

"Plotting something, I'm sure." Aubrey replied with a grin. "Keegan is showing Cierán the new stuff he got from Uncle Fred."

Harry groaned. "There's trouble right there." He shifted Flynn to his other arm as he cuddled into him. "Let's go check on your brothers and get you dressed, eh bud?"

Flynn grinned. "Da!"

Harry smiled. "Yeah."

Ginny watched them leave and smiled at her daughter. "I think your dad is getting a bit worried that you're growing up too fast."

Aubrey grinned. "I wouldn't prank Daddy like Keira's going to. I would just tell him when I had a boyfriend."

"Yes, I suppose you would. You've always been the more honest one." Ginny replied, a knowing look in her eye. Ginny knew for a fact that her oldest daughter happened to have a crush on a certain blonde-haired boy. "Though you haven't told your father yet who it is you do like."

Aubrey blushed. "That's different, Mum. He doesn't even like me that way."

Ginny smiled warmly at her daughter. "You're father didn't like me that way when I was your age either. Don't worry; he'll notice you one day."

Aubrey grinned at this. "Maybe."

"Well, come on, Brie, let's go round everyone up."

Ginny watched her daughter as she left the room and she grinned. Her family was definitely growing and she wondered how many years it would be before one of her children brought home a boyfriend or girlfriend. She sighed at thought. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet. Pushing the thoughts aside, she headed out to round up her troublemakers to head to Sirius and Lexy's house. All in all, the night should be a good one.

**Keira** paced nervously as she watched everyone arrive. She wasn't sure if she could go through with this prank. Everyone was rooting for her obviously, but that didn't make it any better. Sirius didn't even know that her 'boyfriend' was coming to dinner. The doorbell rang and she jumped to her feet, hurrying out into the hall to open it. She grinned when she saw Dan.

His hair had been changed into a hot pink Mohawk. He had piercings in his tongue, nose, chin, eyebrows, and ears. He was wearing tight black jeans, a shirt with a skull on the front and there was a skull tattoo on his shoulder when he removed his leather jacket. If she hadn't know who he was she wouldn't have recognized him. His blue eyes were now brown and his nose an chin were shaped differently. He grinned at her.

"Well, how do I look?"

Keira laughed. "Ridiculous. I can't wait to see Daddy's face!"

Dan grinned. "I can. Uncle Sirius is going to hex me to death!"

She took his hand in hers, grinning when she noticed the tattoos on the knuckles before she led him into the common room. Before they stepped inside, she took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. Then she grinned up at him and they stepped into the room.

Sirius' eyes widened as he looked over at Dan. "Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing with my daughter?" He climbed to his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously.

James leaned over to his wife and grinned as Rory climbed into his lap. "This should be good, right Rory?"

"Up Grandda!"

James cuddled Rory into him and he grinned at Lily. "Padfoot's going to blow his top."

Remus elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "How well did Tonks do on the disguise?"

Lily laughed. "Dan looks brilliant, Remus. You'd never recognize him."

"Daddy," Keira began, making sure that she ran her hand over Dan's stomach as her arm snaked around his waist. "This is S.D., my boyfriend."

Sirius' mouth dropped open and he took a step towards them his fist clenched. "I don't think so."

Lexy grabbed his arm. "Now Sirius, that's not the way to go. Give him a chance."

"A chance!" Sirius exploded. "Lex, are you seeing this … no! I forbid it! Keira, no!"

Keira pouted. "But Daddy … I love him."

Dan nodded. "I love her, sir. We want to get married."

Remus busted out laughing now and Tonks elbowed him. "Sorry," he muttered, his hand over his mouth.

"Keira … no, you know the rules and … definitely not with him! Not with some badly dressed punk named S.D., whatever the hell that stands for!" Sirius exclaimed.

Dan cleared his throat. "Screw Driver."

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Definitely no."

Keira moved closer to Dan. "Daddy! We have to get married, were in love!"

"So wait ten years!"

"We can't."

Lexy winked at her daughter now. "Sirius, she's pregnant."

"WHAT?" Sirius exploded.

Remus suppressed a grin now as he stood up. "Sirius, things like this happen. Killing the father of your grandbaby isn't going to solve anything."

"DAMN IT, KEIRA!"

Keira moved away from Dan to hug her father. "He's really wonderful, Daddy."

Sirius' eyes met Dan's now. "You got piercings anywhere else?"

Dan tried to suppress his grin now. "Yeah, I've got a few more. I don't think you'd like to see those ones though."

Sirius paled and sunk back down into his chair. "I just … oh Merlin." He buried his face in his hands as Tonks stood up.

"Keira, honey, you proved your point."

Keira nodded. "Thanks, Aunt Tonks."

"Thanks-what?" Sirius asked, his head shooting up and going to S.D.

The hair and the tattoos and the piercings disappeared. The dark shaggy locks appeared and Dan stood there, a grin on his face. "Hey, Uncle Sirius."

"Daniel James Lupin! Are you trying to give me a bloody heart attack?" Sirius exclaimed.

Keira grinned. "Dan and I are dating, Daddy. We have been dating for almost three months. I thought that as the Marauder Princess, it was my job to give you one good prank."

Sirius let out a deep whistle of breath. "Thank Merlin!" His arms came around his daughter and he kissed the top of her head. "You're too like me."

Lexy laughed. "Got anything to say to Daniel, honey?"

Sirius sighed as he glanced over at his honourary nephew. "You hurt her I'll kill you."

Dan grinned. "I think Dad's already got that one covered."

"Damn straight," Remus murmured making Sirius grin.

"Thanks Moony. That was brilliant, love," Sirius whispered into his daughter's hair as she giggled.

"I'm just glad it was a prank," Remus said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "You two are way too young to have kids."

Dan caught Keira's eye and their faces dropped. Dan shifted nervously on his feet and the room fell into a very awkward silence.

"Now, Daddy..." Keira started as her father's eyes darkened and he made a growling sound in his throat before he began to prowl after her boyfriend.

"Dad," Dan whispered. "We didn't mean..." he trailed off.

Dan leapt out of the room with several men chasing after him. Remus, Sirius, and James took the lead with Harry and Ron close behind them.

The women looked down on Keira with disdainful looks and she just couldn't keep it in anymore. Keira collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face. She clutched her stomach in pain as she howled in laughter. She felt Dan rush back to her side and lift her into his arms, a huge grin on his face.

"You lot make it too easy." Dan replied, grinning as he kissed Keira softly. The kiss deepened and Sirius cleared his throat loudly.

"Get your tongue out of my daughter's mouth before I kill you." Sirius replied darkly as he glared at his honourary nephew.

Dan blushed and pulled back from Keira. "Sorry, Sir."

Harry grinned. "Ignore him, Dan. I didn't listen to him when he told me to keep my hands off of Gin."

Sirius snorted. "And look where it got you! Married with ten bloody kids!"

Ginny smiled and leaned over to kiss her husband's cheek. "We couldn't be happier. Besides, eleven."

"Huh?" James asked, a bewildered look on his face.

Lily's eyes met her daughter-in-law's. "Are you really?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah. Almost four months now."

James still had Rory on his lap as he stared at his son in awe. "Another grandchild?"

Harry smirked. "Hey, Trelawney made a prediction that I would have a dozen kids, I'm just trying to make it come true."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, she also said you would Minister of Magic, dummy."

Fred snickered as he moved his two youngest into his lap. Freddie and Georgia were both two years old and his little angels. "Harry can't control himself. It's a compulsion."

Lexy grinned. "Clearly he takes after his godfather then."

Sirius ignored them and instead looked over at his oldest daughter. She was laughing and pointing at him as she kissed her boyfriend again. He fell into a nearby chair with a defeated look on his face. Lexy took pity on him. "It was all a prank, she's not pregnant."

"I figured that much, she wouldn't point and laugh."

"You're pouting," his wife whispered.

"I'm well aware of that."

Keira laughed and kissed her father on the cheek, though Dan's arms still encircled her waist. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but it was worth it."

"I know, sweetheart. Well, Dan, good luck, you'll need it."

Dan grinned. "We just couldn't resist, Uncle Sirius."

Sirius sighed as his eyes met his daughter's. Her eyes held the same mischievous glow that his had always held. "Vixen, you had to be a Marauder, eh?"

Lexy grinned. "You've got no one to blame but yourself."

Sirius' eyes sought Dakota's across the room. "Don't even think about it."

Dakota shrugged. "Come on, Dad! If I was going to prank you, I would hardly do the same thing!"

Aurora nodded. "Yeah, I would do something more along the lines of … telling you about the guy when you got the invite to the wedding."

Sirius frowned. "I'm not that bad!"

Jasmine grinned and crawled into her father's lap. "I'll stay with you forever, Daddy. Don't worry."

Sirius grinned. "See, Jazz here knows how to be a good daughter."

Ariel rolled her eyes. "Maybe I won't tell you about my boyfriend until I have a baby."

Aurora laughed. "Regardless of whether or not I was getting married, it'd be fun to watch you faint."

Sirius shook his head in a defeated sort of way. "I'm never going to win, Lexy! You've corrupted all of our daughters."

Lexy smiled and winked at her youngest child just as James wiggled his wand over Sirius' head. Sirius felt his eyebrows and scalp quiver for a moment before he turned to see his own reflection in the window. He was now completely bald and didn't have any hair anywhere.

Bryan grinned at his father from the floor as he and Cierán slapped hands. Harry just grinned. "Fred and George took care of Bry."

James grinned. "With help from the original Marauders, naturally."

Remus grinned. "Thank Merlin; I don't have to worry about anything like that just yet."

Dakota cleared her throat and winked at Adam. "I wouldn't be so sure, Uncle Moony. Adam's girlfriend is definitely a fun surprise."

Adam glared at her. "Dakota! You promised you wouldn't tell!"

Remus glanced from his son to his honourary niece. "Adam Theodore Lupin, what are you hiding?"

Adam shook his head helplessly. "Please Dakota; her father is going to poison me!"

Evan grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "Well her father doesn't hate Uncle Moony nearly as much as he hates Da and Uncle Padfoot, so you might be safe."

Harry's mouth dropped open at his brother's words. "Sabrina?"

Adam turned scarlet, sliding down in his seat as he nodded.

Sirius grinned. "You're dating Snivelly's daughter?" He grinned at Remus. "Oh man!"

"Adam, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Sabrina Snape is a beautiful girl." Lexy replied. "She looks absolutely nothing like either one of her parents."

Sirius snorted. "Good thing."

Lily glared at him. "She's beautiful."

James nodded. "She takes after her Aunt Lily."

Lily blushed as she thought fondly of her niece. Snape had broken down after Evan had been born and decided to forgive Lily enough to play the role of aunt in his daughter's life. Though he still tended to purse his lips and glare angrily whenever his daughter uttered the words, Uncle James. "She's wonderful, Adam. Congratulations.

Tonks nodded. "She's really sweet and very smart, so don't listen to the Marauders."

"Thanks Mum," Adam murmured.

Remus just shook his head sadly. "This is not going to go over well when Severus finds out."

Adam grinned. "He caught us snogging in an empty classroom once but we broke away in time. I think he believed me when I told him I was tutoring her in Transfiguration. She's horrible in that class."

"He's a stupid git!" Sirius exclaimed.

Adam shrugged. "He hates me though! Picks on me in class all the time!"

Harry sighed. "Snape picks on everyone all the time."

"Yeah, but he really seems to hate me!"

Dan shrugged. "It's not just you, Adam. He calls me 'Hey You!' and refuses to acknowledge me by name; even then it comes out as a grimace."

Keira grinned. "He's not nearly as bad as he is with me. His eyes frost over and when he says Miss Black, it sounds like he's trying not to vomit."

Remus chuckled. "You know, I think this is the best news I've heard all day. What do you think, Tonks, should we invite Sabrina over to dinner?"

Tonks laughed as she shook her head in amusement. "You just want to see Snape's face when he finds out who his daughter's boyfriend is, don't you?"

James nodded. "Clearly! Moony, can we come?"

Remus grinned. "The more the merrier."

Adam just glared at Dakota. "Snape is going to make my life a living hell."

Dakota grinned. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you went and told Michael Finch not to snog me."

Adam shrugged as he watched his family plan how to best tell Snape the news. "You're father paid me to."

Dakota's mouth dropped open. "WHAT? DADDY!"

Sirius turned at the shriek and when he realized Adam was grinning, he paled and made a quick exit as Dakota rushed after him.

"What just happened?" Lily asked.

Lexy sighed, starring after her husband and shaking her head. "I think Sirius is going to get a nice wake-up call." Then she just grinned as she heard her husband yell out 'Bloody hell! Dakota, who taught you that?' in the distance.

"Mum," Dakota yelled back.

Lexy just grinned. It was going to be an interesting night.

**Harry** smiled at his wife as he tucked their seven youngest kids into bed for the night. He closed Keegan and Cierán's bedroom door last and then took Ginny's hand in his, kissing her palm.

"It was an interesting evening." Harry said as he wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

Ginny smiled at Harry. "Yes, it was. Can you believe the kids head back to school in two days?"

Harry leaned down to kiss her softly. "Yeah, means I have to head to work too."

Ginny smiled up at her husband. After eleven years of playing professional Quidditch for Pride of Portree, Harry had finally retired. He had been offered by the headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, to teach Transfiguration. McGonagall had been having a problem finding someone good enough and when she found out about Harry retiring she had asked him to teach. This would be his first year as a professor.

"I know that the kids said they were okay with it, but still … it might be kind of weird."

Ginny laughed. "You'll be fine, don't worry. I remember from the DA, Harry, you're a natural born-teacher."

"Yeah, well, I want to get a template made for what I'm going to teach and I have to go through all of my textbooks and notes for a review of the basics. I haven't even started."

Ginny kissed him softly. "Get to work then, Professor Potter."

"I will." He kissed his wife's palm again. "How are you feeling?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, this is the seventh time that I've been pregnant. I'm fine."

Harry grinned. "Just checking." He kissed her softly again. "Alright, I'm going to go work."

He watched Ginny head into the common room to read for a bit and he headed into his study. It didn't surprise him to see his oldest daughter saunter in. Aubrey had stuck to him like glue since the first day she had come home. She always wanted to be around him. When she was younger she had lived in his study and in his lap whenever possible. She was without a doubt, Daddy's Little Girl. Gwen and Rhiannon were a lot more independent and even though they cuddled and ran to Harry when they wanted something, they stuck more to Ginny. But not Aubrey, she was his little angel.

"Hi Daddy," she said as she took a seat in one of the big chairs.

Harry grinned at her. "Hi Brie. Jay and Brig bothering you?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "They're so annoying. They have all sorts of pranks planned for when school starts up. You better watch them."

Harry laughed. "Oh, I plan to. Besides, if I don't keep an eye on them, you're mother will kill me."

Aubrey smiled at him, a knowing look in her eye.

She was quiet for a while as Harry worked on his outline for the following year. It was a few moments later when Harry spoke up. He remembered what Ginny had said earlier about what he was going to do when Aubrey brought home a boyfriend.

"What did you think of what Keira did?"

Aubrey laughed. "It was funny. Dan looked so silly and Uncle Sirius was ready to kill somebody."

Harry grinned at his daughter as he watched her talk. She was really growing up into a beautiful young woman and it scared him a little bit. Her long jet-black curly hair hung down her back and her bright emerald green eyes were wide and almond shaped. Other than those similarities to her father, she was the spitting image of Lily Potter. Harry couldn't believe how much she looked like his mother. Even her mannerisms were very similar, but her temper was all Ginny. He grinned at the thought and turned his attention back to what she was saying.

"I wouldn't do anything like that. I would just bring my boyfriend home to meet you."

"I appreciate that," Harry responded with a grin. "But no boyfriends for a while, okay? I don't think I'm ready yet."

She laughed. "I don't think it will be any time soon. He doesn't like me back."

Harry paled. "Who?" The idea that his baby fancied someone was bad enough, but the idea that this little punk didn't think his daughter was good enough made him angry.

Aubrey blushed. "Sam. If Jay and Brig knew they would make fun of me. Please don't tell them, Daddy."

"Sam?" Harry repeated. "Why does it have to be Sam?"

She shrugged. "He's funny and he's smart. He's really nice too and even though he helps in a lot of pranks he's more responsible than Jay and Brig. He's handsome."

Harry sighed. "Alright, well … one day maybe."

"One day, what?" Aubrey asked.

"He's too young to think of you that way, Brie. Boys mature slower than girls do. Your Mum had a crush on me when she was your age but I didn't even start to notice girls until third year." Harry explained. "But don't give up, alright?"

Aubrey grinned. "I won't." She stood up to kiss her father's cheek. "Goodnight, Daddy."

Harry watched her as she left the room and he sighed. She was growing up way too fast. It was a couple of hours later when he heard Aubrey crying. He was on his feet and at her bedroom door instantly but Ginny shooed him away. He paced their bedroom anxiously for what felt like hours and his head whipped to the door when Ginny walked in.

"What's wrong? Is she alright?" He demanded, grabbing Ginny's arm.

Ginny wrapped her arms around her husband and burst into tears. "She's fine."

"Why are you crying?" Harry asked as he held her close in his arms, cradling her against his heart.

Ginny sniffed as she spoke. "Our baby got her period!"

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I did not want to know that."

Ginny laughed. "Oh, Harry, it's wonderful! She's becoming a young lady. I'm so glad that she got it before she started to school. We talked about it and all of the things she has to do but it's better for me to be here. I was all alone when I started mine. I had to go talk to Madame Pomfrey and it was so embarrassing."

Harry grinned and kissed his wife's cheek. "I'll take your word on that. Is she, uh, I mean, is she okay?"

She laughed. "Of course she's okay! She just panicked a bit. But she's fine. Everything is fine."

Harry sat down on the bed as Ginny headed into the bathroom to wash up for bed. He suddenly felt very old. His daughter fancied a Malfoy, and now she had just become a woman … he sighed; it was going to be a long year.


	2. The Fancy

**Chapter II - The Fancy:**

**Five years later …**

"**Aubrey** Lily-Rose Potter!" Jay mimicked after their mother as he watched his sister hurry to pack up her school things.

"Don't start, James; it makes you look like an idiot." Aubrey replied.

Brigham only nodded as he stepped into the room to sit comfortably on her bed. "Jay doesn't care, Brie, come on!"

Jay grinned. "Too true, Brig, so very true."

Aubrey rolled her eyes as she levitated her trunk so that it was heading down the stairs in front of her. Today she would be starting her seventh and final year at Hogwarts, along with her dimwitted brothers. On one hand, she loved being a triplet because she shared a wonderful closeness with James and Sirius that she didn't share with any of her other siblings, but on the other hand they could be so annoying.

"Come on, Da! We have to get there early," Jay replied with a grin. "Brig needs to ogle Aurora some more. I think this year she might actually hex him!"

Harry sighed. "You know, Brig, I don't think Sirius is going to appreciate the fact that you're ogling his daughter. You might want to wait until school starts for that to come into play."

Keegan rolled his eyes. "Aurora doesn't even like him. She told him he was an arrogant prat and to shove his broomstick up his – er, morning Mum."

Ginny smiled at her son, her eyes twinkling. "Wise move, Keegan Arthur."

Cierán elbowed his brother lightly. "Very wise move, Mum would have skinned you!"

"Daddy, Flynn and I want to go too," Rory complained, tears in his eyes.

Harry knelt down in front of his son and kissed his temple. "Two more years, Sport. You have to be eleven remember."

"Can you use a spell to make us eleven?" Flynn asked as Rory nodded vigorously next to him.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "No, dummy!"

"Now, Gwen, be nice," Ginny murmured. "Does everyone have everything? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter as you can just write home with whatever you forgot."

"I promise to be on my best behaviour," Harry replied making his children laugh.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't give out too many detentions the first day."

"Yeah, Da, and no more detentions for Brig and I!" Jay exclaimed.

"Well, if you two would start behaving! Why can't you be more like Aubrey?"

Jay wrinkled his nose. "A goodie, goodie? No way! Uncle Fred and Uncle George would be so disappointed."

"It's going to be an interesting year, Mum." Aubrey replied as she eyed her brothers.

Ginny pulled her oldest daughter close for a warm hug. "It sure will be. I'm so proud of you for making Head Girl, sweetheart."

Jay and Brig were making gagging noises in the background until Ginny gave them a stern look.

Harry smiled. "We're both proud of you. It's nice to see Keegan following in your footsteps too. A prefect is a great honour."

"How he got it, no one knows." Cierán replied with a grin causing Jay and Brig to bust out laughing.

"Any idea who made Head Boy this year?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded. "Minerva said it was Sam Malfoy. He deserves it. He's worked hard to get it."

Aubrey felt a little flutter in her chest at the name. Sam? She had to spend the whole year with Sam only in the next door! It was going to be torture. He was bound to have girls there on a regular basis.

She sighed. Aubrey had been harbouring a huge crush on Sam Malfoy for the last five years. She hadn't told anyone about it and of course he never noticed she was alive. Last year however, they had run into each other while patrolling and she had tripped over Filch's cat. Sam had caught her but they had both tumbled down the steps landing in each other's arms. She had thought for a moment that he might … but her hopes had shattered when he had laughed and told her he had to go meet Melinda for his date. Her fancy, however, had not gone away. If Jay and Brig knew they would …

She shook the thoughts from her head. It wasn't time to think about those things. The last thing she needed was for her brothers to start going on about her boyfriend again. Her last boyfriend had actually dumped her for fear of his life. It was bad enough being in school with four brothers to torture her with. At least this year, Gwen and Rhiannon were starting.

Aubrey sighed as her father dropped his arm around her shoulders. "How you doing, Princess?"

Aubrey smiled at the nickname. "I'm alright. Is Sam Malfoy really Head Boy?"

Harry nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, he is. Does that bother you?"

She shook her head. "No, it's fine, I was just surprised."

Harry grinned. "Draco and Delilah raised him to be a good boy. He's a good student."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Da, you can't judge everyone on their good student status!"

Harry laughed. "As a professor I can." He leaned in to kiss her cheek and he whispered in her ear. "This year, sweetheart, you make him notice you."

Aubrey blushed as she watched her father head over to kiss her mum in a long passionate kiss. If only she actually had the guts to do that.

**Harry** sat in his office later on that evening staring at the lesson plans for tomorrow morning. He had been the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts for the last five years and he had really enjoyed it. He especially loved it because he was close to his kids. Ginny was a little jealous of that, but Harry kept her up with what was going on between them.

James and Sirius had really become a handful. In fact, all of his sons were a bit of handful. Pranks seemed to be their favourite thing to do. Aubrey, Gwen, and Rhiannon were much more serious but at the same time, they were the ones to watch out for if you got them angry. He looked up at the knock on his door and smiled at his favourite professor.

"Hey Hagrid."

Hagrid grinned as he stepped inside of the office. "'Arry, how are you doing?"

"Good. How was your summer? Gin and I missed you."

Hagrid grinned sheepishly. He had married Olympé a few years after the war but she had passed away last year. Hagrid had been a bit quiet since then. "I did some travelling."

Harry nodded. "As long as you enjoyed yourself. Gin and I will expect you to dinner this weekend. The kids will love to see you again, especially Lore. She's been asking for her Uncle Haggar."

Hagrid blushed. "Yeah, I just came to apologize for that, 'Arry. I know I 'aven't been there to see the kids in a while and … I just don't know what to do with me self anymore."

Harry grinned. "I get it, Hagrid. Just remember that you're always welcome at our home."

He nodded. "I know. You're a great man, Professor Potter, and a professor at that."

Harry laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Hagrid grinned. "Indeed. Well, I got to feed Fang Junior; I'll talk to you later. You tell those oldest boys of yours to stay out of the forest."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll do my best."

Hagrid chuckled as he left the room. Harry watched him go with a grin on his face. Hagrid never changed. He looked up at the knock on the door and smiled at the Head Boy, Samuel James Malfoy.

He was six feet tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and the spitting image of Draco. Harry could see why his daughter would fancy him but at the same time he had a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that he wished his daughter didn't fancy anyone.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, come on in, Sam. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. It's nice to be back at school."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I always loved coming back every year. I still do. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you on your job well done on getting Head Boy. That's quite an honour."

Sam grinned. "Thank you, sir, my parents were quite proud."

"I'm sure they would be. It's been a while since I've seen Draco and Delilah, how are they doing?"

"They're doing fine. They did a lot of travelling this summer, just the two of them. Mum said they needed to get away for a while." Sam explained.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, you guys stayed with my parents. Mum and Da were thrilled to have you."

Sam grinned. "Dad always gets embarrassed still by Grandda and Grandma. I heard him telling Mum that he doesn't know why they treat him so well."

"Your father had a pretty rough life, Sam. Anyway, I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"

"Of course, sir."

Harry grinned. "Now, don't go agreeing to things before you know what they are." When Sam grinned he continued. "I know I don't have the right to say this, but as Head Boy I would really appreciate it if you kept a close eye on Aubrey for me this year."

Sam cleared his throat. "Sir, she'll kill me."

Harry laughed. "There is a strong possibility of that, yes, but I think it's worth risking."

Sam shrugged. "Why? I mean, Aub's good at taking care of herself."

Harry nodded. "I know, but … just keep an eye on her for me, alright?"

Sam gave him a puzzled look. "Sure, I can do that, sir."

"Good. Head on up to bed now, good night."

Sam nodded, closing the door behind him. "Right, goodnight sir."

Harry watched him leave and he sighed. He just hoped that he had made the right decision.

**Sam **headed down to the Heads' Room in confusion. He had no idea why he had just been told to keep an eye on Aubrey. The last thing he needed was to keep his eye on an incredibly intelligent and beautiful young woman who made his heart go pitter patter in his chest. He had managed to ignore the desire that she pulled from him for years and he was going to continue to do so. Nothing was going to change that. She was the daughter of his professor; the daughter of his father's friend; the daughter of his honourary uncle … he had no right to think the thoughts he was thinking about her. He closed his eyes and pushed the thoughts out of his head. He would keep an eye on her, just to make sure that she stayed out of trouble.

He heard someone call his name and he turned around in time to see her hurrying towards him.

"Hey Sam, wait up!"

He grinned at her. "Sorry."

She gave him a brilliant smile and he ignored the tiny tug of desire in his gut. "I just wanted to go over a few of the duties with you before we turned in for the night."

Sam nodded. "Sure, what did you have in mind?"

Aubrey smiled warmly and his heart melted. "Good. You see, it goes like this …"

**It **was later on that evening and Harry had just finished explaining to his wife about his discussion with Sam. Ginny's eyebrow rose questioningly for a moment.

"And why would you tell Sam to keep an eye on Aubrey?"

Harry grinned. "We both know that she's in love with him."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"He likes her, Gin, I know he does. Being in such close proximity with her this year, being told to keep an eye on her … I told Aubrey to get him this year."

Ginny smiled. "What makes you think she will?"

Harry snorted. "She's too much like you not to. She loves him and he feels something for her. It will only be a matter of time."

Ginny curled herself into her husband's lap. "I think you're right." She kissed him softly. "So you just have to be prepared to walk Aubrey down the aisle."

Harry paled. "Aisle?"

"Yes, to give her away. She's going to marry Sam, babe."

Harry paled a bit more. "Nuh-uh, she's only seventeen. She can't get married at seventeen!"

Ginny laughed. "You were seventeen."

"That's completely different!"

Ginny kissed him softly. "I didn't say that they were getting married now. I said that you need to be prepared to give her away when the time comes."

He nodded and kissed her deeply. "I can do that, but not yet."

She ran her fingers lovingly through the mop on his head. "Our babies are almost all grown up now."

He sighed. "We can keep Lore forever."

Ginny smirked. "Maybe." When her lips met his again, he sighed.

He had the life he had always dreamed of. He had never been happier than he was now. Life was wonderful. Harry had now been married to Ginny for nineteen years. He had twelve amazing children, a retired career of Quidditch behind him, and a wonderful career of teaching ahead of him. Ginny was still working at Heart and Hope and she loved every second of it. His kids were incredible.

James Remus, better known as Jay, was exactly like his grandfather in so many ways that it made Harry laugh. He was fun and full of life and had the mind of a prankster. Mix that in with the things he managed to con from his uncles' joke shop and that normally meant trouble. Jay had also been dating a pretty girl by the name of Jordan Fanshaw for the last eight months. She was pretty much perfect for him in every way with her long blonde hair and big brown eyes. She was a Ravenclaw and was always there to whip him back into shape when he got too far out of line. Harry figured they were going to be together for a long time. Molly had already been talking about the discussion of marriage and great-grandchildren to spoil.

Sirius Brigham, better known as Brig, was harbouring a serious crush on Aurora Black. The problem however, was that Aurora had no intention of letting him have his way with her. It was similar to the whole James/Lily scenario of love and hatred and Harry wondered how long it would be until Aurora broke down. Brig was full of life and intelligent when it came to spells. He learned quickly but he had a habit of not putting his heart into what he was doing which made his grades plummet. Harry was hoping he would smarten up this year.

Aubrey was, of course Harry's angel and Head Girl. He didn't favour any of his children over the other, but Aubrey held a special place in his heart. They were just very close. Though Rory, Flynn, Lore, and Alex stuck close to him twenty-four/seven like Aubrey had. Harry really hoped that she managed to snag Sam. He wanted her to be happy.

Keegan Arthur was fifteen now and a prefect. He had really sprung up this year and was close to six feet. His voice had deepened a great deal as well, much to the pleasure of Jay and Brig who enjoyed taking the Mickey out of him. His best friend was Ava Longbottom, a fellow prefect. Keegan was a lot like Percy, in that pompous air about him but at the same time, he had this prankster attitude that tended to make him a bit of a troublemaker. He and Cierán were extremely close.

Cierán William was fourteen and the spitting image of his namesake Bill. He had the red-hair, the height that would definitely continue, as well as the brains. He also seemed to be a bit of prankster. Harry figured that had a lot to do with all of the time that his kids spent with their Uncles Fred and George. His best friend was probably Keegan, other then J.P. Weasley, Bill and Fleur's son. J.P. and Cierán were the best beaters that Gryffindor had seen since Fred and George.

Gwendolynn Molly, better known as Gwen, had started her first year at Hogwarts. She had been sorted into Gryffindor as well (all of the Potters and the Weasleys were in Gryffindor so far). Gwen was the spitting image of her mother from the fire red hair to the big melt into them dark chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes had always been Harry's downfall, because he wanted to give her everything when she turned those eyes on him. Gwen knew it too and pressed her luck. Harry was a softie and his kids knew it.

Rhiannon Nymphadora, better known as Rhi, was the fraternal twin sister of Gwen. They looked quite a bit alike but Rhiannon had reddish blonde hair and Harry's emerald green eyes. Rhi was the comedian in the family and was exceptionally good at language and jokes. She could make anyone crack a smile and had even succeeded with Snape that summer.

Rory Andrew was nine and an incredible seeker. He was hoping desperately that by the time he was old enough to play on the house team they would need a seeker in whatever house he got in. Rory was frustrated with not being able to go to Hogwarts yet but Harry and Ginny tried to make it up to the children by taking them out in outings to games and movies and things on the weekends.

Flynn Ronald was seven and an avid reader. His nose was always stuck in a book somewhere in the house. His favourite place to be was at Potter Manor with his grandparents in the big library or with Aunt Hermione learning about something or another. He was quite brilliant as well and Harry knew he was going to go far.

Aidan Charles was six years old now and a bit of a little bugger. He had taken to throwing tantrums whenever Harry or Ginny decided to leave for work. He was also a serious prankster and had turned furniture into cheese and made dinner fly around the room on a regular basis. He was getting to be very powerful and needed to have someone keeping an eye on him at all times.

Alexander Evan was five and wonderfully and adorably the shadow of Rory. He completely idolized his older brother and mimicked pretty much everything he did, much to the annoyance of Rory. Alex also shadowed Harry whenever he was home and liked being carried around on his back. He was getting so big.

Lastly, was Lorelai Hermione, better known as Lore. She was three, adorable, and the spitting image of her mother. Harry was hoping desperately that she never grew up.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Life had sure gotten crazy. Seamus and Lavender were still happily married. Draco and Delilah were busy and happy. Neville and Luna were still both so funny and in love that it made him grin. Dean had even married Parvarti. Sirius' oldest, Keira had married Remus' oldest Dan only that summer. Adam was still dating Snape's daughter Sabrina, much to the dismay of Snape. The world was changing. Everyone was growing up. They were all getting older and soon it was going to be him watching his grandkids grow.

"Where were you just now?" Ginny asked, her arms around his neck.

Harry sighed as he buried his face in her hair. "Thinking about how happy I am, about how much I love you, and about how much life has changed."

Ginny grinned. "We're all getting older, Harry."

He nodded. "Yeah … it just seems weird to think that our kids are growing up."

Ginny kissed him softly. "Life is fickle like that."

Harry just grinned. Life was fickle and he wasn't ever going to change a single part of it.


	3. A Budding Romance

**Chapter III - A Budding Romance:**

**One month later ...**

**Aubrey** Potter looked up from the homework she was doing on the common room floor and tried not to grimace as Sam Malfoy walked in. The two of them were Head Boy and Girl this year and sharing the little private head quarters was worse then she expected. Girls followed him around all the time. He was so smart and handsome and so incredibly good at Quidditch, not to mention how wealthy the Malfoy name was that girls never left him alone. She rolled her eyes as the giggling ensued before the portrait hole close and he stepped inside, surprisingly alone.

"What? You didn't want to bring one of them in with you?" Aubrey asked sweetly.

Sam glared at her. "Right."

He plopped himself down on the chesterfield and dragged his fingers through this thick blonde hair. It fell just so around his face and was pure curls. Just looking at it made Aubrey's stomach drop. She wanted nothing more than to grab a fistful of those curls and tug him down for a kiss. She swallowed and pushed the thoughts from her mind. It wasn't time yet. Sam didn't think about her that way.

But she was beginning to think that that might change.

Only two days ago he had walked in on her in the bathroom. She had been drying her hair and wearing nothing but a towel and the way that those deep blue eyes had raked over her body before he backed out of the room still sent shivers down her spine.

"Hey Aub, did you start Snape's assignment yet?" Sam asked, a hand still over his eyes.

Aubrey nodded. "Yes. I finished it about twenty minutes ago. Potions is my best subject."

Sam groaned. "It's one of my best subjects too; I just don't want to do it. I'm so bloody tired."

Aubrey looked up now, sitting up from her spot on the floor. Sam had his hand over his eyes and he was pretty pale. She moved up onto the couch and tugged his hand down to place her hand over his forehead. "You're burning up! Sam, how long have you bee feeling like this?"

He shrugged. "About an hour. I was doing patrols and I got kind of dizzy … I didn't eat much at dinner though, maybe I'm just hungry."

Aubrey shook her head. "I don't think so. You're kind of clammy. I think you should go down and see Madame Britton."

He shook his head and slouched further down on the couch. "No."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and climbed to her feet. "Fine, suffer then!

Sam simply winced as the portrait hole slammed shut a moment later. His stomach was churning and he could still smell her perfume lingering in the room. His head was pounding and he knew he wasn't feeling well. He knew that he felt clammy and he was positive that his temperature was rising. All in all, he felt like crap. He didn't even glance up when the portrait hole opened a little while later. He had no idea how long he had been sitting like that. He felt someone sit next to him and he found himself looking into gorgeous emerald green eyes.

"What?"

Aubrey had a bunch of things in front of her. "Since you're too stubborn to go see the matron, I went in your place."

He went to make a protesting sound when the hot cloth touched his faced and he sighed in pleasure. It felt so good on his aching head. He didn't protest and by the time Aubrey had finished using the cloth and shoved potions down his throat, he didn't even comment. He was pretty positive he could no longer function. Then she was pulling him to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

"You are going to have a nice hot bath. Madame Britton says it will make you feel better and the potion I gave you will bring down the fever." Aubrey explained.

She tugged him into the bathroom and made him sit on the toilet before she filled up the tub with hot water. Once it was full enough for her she turned to smile at Sam.

"Can you get in alright? I can get Jay or Brig up here to help you."

Sam shook his head. "No, I … I can do it. Thanks."

She gave him a small smile. "If you need anything just call, okay?"

He nodded but stayed where he was until the bathroom door closed behind her. She really was something else. He stood up to get undressed and when he sank into the hot water he whimpered slightly.

As usual, Aubrey had been right. He really hated that.

**A **few days later, Harry looked up when his office door opened and he grinned at Sam when he stepped in. "Good afternoon, Sam. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

Sam shrugged. "I just wanted to thank you, sir."

"Thank me?"

Sam nodded. "You told me to keep an eye on your daughter but I think it might be the other way around. I wasn't feeling well a few days back and when I refused to go to the matron well … she took care of me."

Harry grinned. "She's a very caring person."

"Yeah, she is." Sam replied.

Harry tried to suppress his grin. "Well, keep your eye on her anyway, Sam, it is after all, only a month into the school year."

Sam nodded. "Right, I will, sir."

Harry watched him leave before he tugged out the mirror in his pocket. He was anxious to fill Ginny in on the news.

"**What** the hell is wrong with you?" Sam demanded angrily as he slammed the portrait hole shut behind him a few days later.

Aubrey looked up from where she was studying on the floor in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Sam exclaimed. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you bloody insane? Do you know anything about Damian Smith?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "He's a smart and handsome young man who asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him. He's a prefect."

"So what?"

Aubrey glared at him. "I should be asking what's wrong with you? What do you have against Damian?"

Sam fisted his hands in his hair in frustration. "Nothing … he's a prat and I think you could do better."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "No seriously, Sam, what's wrong with Damian? He's far from a prat!"

Sam snorted. "Isn't he? I thought you knew better than that! Didn't you look close at Caroline?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He beat the shite out of her, Aubrey!"

Aubrey shook her head. "That's ridiculous! Of course he didn't do that!"

Sam glared at her and reached forward to grab her arms. "Listen to me!"

"Let go of me! You're hurting me!"

Sam dropped his grip instantly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean …" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Listen to me, Aubrey. Damian Smith is trouble. Please, don't go out with him."

Aubrey's eyes met his for a moment and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her but the feeling past and she felt nothing but the longing. "I have to. Just one date, then I'll decide from there. Caroline has never said anything to me about him hitting her, Sam. Her father is pretty good at knocking her around though."

Sam watched her turn and leave the room, and he groaned. He was just going to have to keep a closer eye on her.

**It** was the day of the Hogsmeade trip and Aubrey was laughing at the joke that Damian was telling her. She felt like she had done nothing but laugh this entire date. He was hilarious and her stomach actually hurt from laughing so hard. Her hand was in his as they walked through the village of Hogsmeade cheerfully. They were heading towards the Shrieking Shack now and it made her grin to see it. She felt a little sad whenever she saw it too because she knew that her grandfather and his friends had spent a lot of their time there in school and it hadn't been by choice but instead to help their friend through his troubled times.

"Aubrey?" Damian asked, turning her towards him then.

"Hmm? Oh sorry, went off in my own little world." She answered with a smile.

Damian nodded. "I noticed." He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "I'll just have to work on keeping your attention."

She smiled sweetly at him and when he leaned in for the kiss, she froze. She didn't know why as it was hardly her first kiss but she froze. She tugged herself away from him, wondering why she didn't want him to kiss her. Damian had been nothing but a gentleman on the entire date and he was amusing and funny and so smart.

"I'm sorry, Damian … I just … not yet."

Damian's eyes narrowed and for the first time Aubrey caught the glimpse of coldness in them but it was gone in a second and she wondered if she had imagined it. "That's alright. It was only a kiss though, Aubrey."

She smiled. "I know."

They walked back to the castle in silence and she wished him a good day before she practically ran back to the common room. Tears were in her eyes now and she didn't know why. By the time she fell onto her bed she was bawling her eyes out and she couldn't even give one good reason for why she was crying. Her bedroom door opened and she waved at whoever was there.

"Go away!"

Someone sat down on the bed next to her and when she looked up, her eyes softened. "Daddy!"

She threw herself into her father's arms and just sobbed. Harry ran his hands up and down her back, cradling his daughter against him. He had no idea what was wrong but she had run past him on the verge of tears and he had followed. When her sobs subsided, Harry pushed her back to look into her eyes.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Aubrey shook her head and threw her arms around her father's neck again. "I don't know!" She quickly explained all about her argument with Sam and then about her date and how she had no idea why she was so upset.

Harry laughed when she was finished. "It's because you don't want to be with Damian, honey. You love Sam."

She nodded as her father wiped the tears from her eyes. "Stupid git."

Harry grinned and kissed her forehead. "Men often are. I have to head home as I'm taking your mother out for a romantic dinner this evening. My advice to you is to get rid of Smith and tell Sam how you feel. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at the reaction." He kissed her cheek as he got up and as Aubrey watched her father leave the room, she nodded.

All she had to do was come up with a plan.

**It **was a little later that evening and Aubrey had soaked herself in a long hot bath as she thought about what she could do to get Sam to notice her. She was really coming up empty handed on this. She climbed out of the tub and rubbed lotion on herself, grinning as wacky ideas floated into her head. Maybe she could just jump him. Or sneak into his bed at night. Or do something like …. She sighed, the ideas were stupid. She wasn't even sure if she was ready for something like that. She slipped white satin pajama bottoms and a black tank top before she dried and brushed her long black hair.

By the time she stepped back into her bedroom, her plan idea was still batting zero.

She lay down on her bed, closing her eyes. How was she ever going to get Sam to notice her? He had been the love of her life for longer than she could remember. He had been her first kiss. As the memory flooded over her, she sighed …

_"Jay, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Aubrey exclaimed as she sat with her brothers at the table in the Great Hall for breakfast halfway through fifth year._

_Jay shrugged. "I disagree. If you're going to do something stupid, at least make sure it's a good one. For example, Brig loves our dear Aurora. If he kissed her, he would feel better and he could happily suffer the consequences."_

_Brigham rolled his eyes. "Honestly Jay, I often wonder about your sanity."_

_Aubrey giggled. "Well, I'm heading to class, you two, see you later."_

_She hurried away from the Great Hall, shaking her head. Between Jay and Brig she always knew that she could find amusement. The two of them were always up for a good joke and even though they were annoying, they always knew how to make her feel better. She bumped headlong into someone and yelped in surprise when strong arms came around her. Her eyes met Sam's and her heart plummeted._

_"Sorry," he whispered. "I'm trying to hide from Ginger Harlem."_

_Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Why?"_

_"Shh," Sam replied, tugging her closer into the corner with him._

_Aubrey tried to ignore the sensations racking her body at the idea that she was pressed tightly against him._

_"Shite, here she comes!" Sam murmured. "Aub, can you do me the biggest favour?"_

_"What?" She whispered back._

_"I need her to think I'm with someone else. She won't leave me alone. Kiss me."_

_Aubrey's eyes widened. "What?"_

_She didn't have time to think because Sam's lips were on hers. It started off light and she didn't kiss him back at first. She was too surprised. But then her hands moved up his back and into his thick blonde curls and she was surrendering every ounce of herself to him, pouring herself into the kiss._

_"You're a bloody prat, Sam Malfoy!" Ginger screamed, causing them to break apart._

_Sam shrugged. "Sorry Ginger, but I did tell you it was over."_

_She glared at him and stomped away angrily._

_Sam grinned at her. "Thanks Aub!"_

_He walked away, leaving her aching and she swore she had felt the first little crack appear in her heart._

Since then, no guy she had ever kissed had even come close to making her feel like what she had felt that day.

Aubrey sat up then. She didn't care anymore. She wanted Sam and she was going to make sure he knew that. She was tired of waiting and wondering. She stomped down to the common room and Sam didn't even look up. He was sitting on the chesterfield with his Charms textbook open in front of him. His tie was loose around his neck, his collar undone, and half of the buttons on his shirt open to reveal his white undershirt. His hair was messy, so he must have been dragging his fingers through it. He looked utterly irresistible.

"Sam?" Aubrey asked.

He looked up, a far off look in his eyes for a moment before he focused on her. "Hey, Aub."

He turned his attention back to the Charms book and Aubrey growled in frustration. It was now or never. She walked over, taking the Charms book from him and putting it on the table and she simply sat in his lap.

Sam's eyes widened. "Aub, what are you doing?"

She moved closer to him now, her hands were trembling with fear. "I don't know."

"Well, stop it."

She fought back tears. "I can't." She leaned forward and boldly nipped gently at his lips.

Sam stared at her for a moment in shock. When he looked into her eyes he could see everything that he had wanted to see. She loved him. How he knew it suddenly so strongly he couldn't say but he knew it.

"Aub …"

Aubrey nodded, the tears coming down her cheeks now. She had done it. She had made a complete fool of herself and he didn't like her back. She tried to climb to her feet but Sam's arms stopped her from moving.

"Let me go!"

"No!" He demanded as he struggled to keep her in his lap.

After a few minutes of struggling he managed to pin her down on the chesterfield beneath him.

"Listen to me."

"No!" Aubrey exclaimed. "I don't want to listen. I just made a fool out of myself there's no reason for you to remind me of it!"

His hand rested on her cheek for a moment. "Well, I'm going to make an even bigger fool of myself."

Then his lips were on hers.

Aubrey melted completely. She couldn't help it. Her hands fisted in his curls as he they kissed softly and slowly at first but soon it deepened into something much more, something that made her heart pound and the desire in her gut scream out to him.

He pulled away only too soon, his forehead leaning against hers. "I'm in love with you, Aubrey Potter."

Aubrey's eyes widened. "What?"

Sam grinned. "I love you. I don't know when it started, but I love you."

Aubrey smiled up at him. "I love you, too. I've always loved you."

Sam grinned down at her. "Aren't we a pair? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She nodded, tears of happiness in her eyes. "Yes."

Then they lost themselves in kisses again.


	4. The News

**Chapter IV - The News:**

**One Year Later ...**

Arthur looked up from the paper he was reading when he heard his wife call his name. "I'm not hungry, Molly." He called out for what he swore was the tenth time that day. She just couldn't seem to get it through her head that he really wasn't hungry. He had already eaten breakfast and lunch as it was and he did not need a snack before dinner.

She came into the living room, wiping her hands on her apron. "Arthur, are you sure? I made some nice treacle tarts and some apple pies."

Arthur rolled his eyes and reached up to take his wife's hand in his. "Just because I retired doesn't mean I want to eat all the time."

Molly smiled at that and took a seat next to him. "It's just going to take some getting used to is all. You worked for our whole lives together. Whatever are you doing to do sitting at home all day?"

He smiled at her, running his thumb gently over her hand. "Well, now we're going to be able to have more time together." He bit his lip to prevent himself from saying he would spend his time taking care of her. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in another argument. "Maybe we can do some of the things we always said we would. We're still somewhat young. We can travel. I know you always wanted to go to Paris."

A dreamy expression fell on his wife's face and he smiled. It was hard to imagine his life without her. She had been such a drastic part of his life since he had been sixteen and now at sixty-seven, she was still the most important person in his life. It was one of the things that worried him most.

"I would love to go to Paris. But we don't have the money to do that, Arthur. We have other things to be worrying about at the moment."

Arthur reached over and took her left breast in his hand. It hurt him to touch it, knowing that it was poisoning her. "We're going to beat this, Molly, me and you, together. I just wish you would let me tell the kids. They could help out a lot ... do things around the house. They would want to know."

"I'm not an invalid, Arthur. I feel fine." Molly insisted, placing her own hand over his.

"For now." He whispered, his eyes meeting hers.

She pushed his hand away and stood up, swaying a little on her feet. She hated when he got like this, all sad and determined. She had time. She had to have time. There was still so much she wanted to see, so much she wasn't ready to let go of yet. She didn't want to admit how scared she was or how uncertain over her decisions. To her that would be like admitting that her time was almost up. "I'm fine. Stop worrying. Now I'm going to go bake some more."

He watched her walk away, a tear in his eye. He was so afraid that she was going to overdo it. Healer Doherty had asked her to take it easy a bit and that it was important to rest often in between the potion intakes. He closed his eyes for a moment. Next week they would be celebrating their fiftieth anniversary and he wanted to take her to Paris. But she was right, they didn't have the money. The medical bills for her potions and her appointments were eating up a large chunk of the money he had made as Minister of Magic.

He had been Minister for fifteen years and he had enjoyed it, which surprised him. Politics had never been his milieu but he had fit in as if it had always been his intention to be there. Afterwards he stayed in politics as the Undersecretary to the new Minister for two years before moving back into his old department. He had missed working with muggle things on a regular basis.

But then six months ago when Molly was given the news, he had decided to retire.

The last thing he had wanted was to be unavailable when she needed him. Their kids had been surprised. Bill especially had raised the question of him retiring at such a young age but he had told them he wanted to enjoy his life with his wife. That they wanted to travel; and like he had promised his wife, he had kept his mouth shut about the news.

But two days ago that news had turned to the worst and Arthur needed someone to lean on now, as much as it dismayed him to realize it. He couldn't do this alone.

Arthur had contemplated going to the muggle world and trying radiation therapy but the potions worked the same with the same side effects and complications and with the same results and they weren't working. He knew that going to the muggle world would not do anything to change that outcome. It simply scared him that they were running out of possibilities. Molly was getting weaker and weaker every day. She had lost all of her hair by now and wore a wig whenever the kids came over or whenever they visited. At the moment she had a hat on.

She didn't want to bother them. That was her excuse.

He was tired of it. She overworked herself and the cancer had spread by now. Healer Doherty had told her that they could remove her left breast to try to stop the cancer but it didn't look good. It had spread to too much of her body as it was. She was dying and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

There was nothing Arthur could do.

Healer Doherty had given her two months tops, but she still wouldn't let him tell the kids. It broke his heart every day and he needed someone to talk to about it. But he had promised her. He had promised her everything and now he felt like those promises had been worthless. He couldn't take care of her, he had failed.

He buried his face in his hands and then sat up as an idea came to him. He was surprised at himself for not thinking about it before. He was a little ashamed that he would need to ask for such a thing, but he knew it would be worth it. It would be worth it just to see his wife's smile.

He hurried into the kitchen, turning his wife around and kissing her deeply. "I need to go out for a bit. Will you be alright?"

Molly smiled at him and cupped his cheek. "I will be fine. Go! Have a good time. You never go out with your friends anymore."

He nodded. He couldn't leave her alone long enough to do that. He wasn't allowed to tell anybody, how could he go out and pretend that everything was fine. "Friends right. We're just going to play some cards." He lied.

She nodded. "Go."

Arthur kissed her again, holding on just a second longer than necessary before he turned. He was going to make her last two months perfect. He owed her that. She had given him everything he had ever desired and more. It was the least he could do.

**Harry** stood over the stove, stirring the stew he was making for dinner with his youngest daughter clinging to his leg. He moved around the kitchen easily dragging her around as she giggled from the floor. Today seemed to be shadow day.

Ginny stood in the doorway and watched them with a smile on her face. It always pleased her to see her husband cooking. He wasn't terribly good at it but he always scraped by. Breakfast seemed to be the only thing he could ever really cook well. "Are you helping Daddy cook dinner?"

Lorelai grinned at her mum, her arms still wrapped tightly around her father's legs. "Yup, yup!"

Harry smiled at Ginny. "She's feeling extra snuggly today. Or maybe thinks she's my shadow. Is stew alright?"

Ginny walked into the kitchen and stood up on her toes to kiss him softly. "Sounds perfect. I love when you cook."

He grinned and tugged her closer to him. "You know I can only cook so many things but I do what I can." He kissed her again and Lorelai clapped her hands from between them.

"Kiss again!"

Harry laughed and picked her up into his arms before he covered her face in kisses and she giggled. He passed her onto Ginny who did the same.

"Why don't you go upstairs and play with your brothers for a bit until dinner is ready okay, sweetie?"

Lorelai grinned as her mother put her back on the floor. "Okay."

They watched her hurry off and Ginny took a seat at the kitchen table as Harry turned back to the stew. "So were the kids good today?"

Harry shrugged. That always seemed to be a trick question in his mind. "The usual headache, nothing out of the ordinary."

She laughed and stretched her legs. "I bet your anxious to get back to work."

He flashed her a grin. "Two more weeks, five days."

Ginny laughed at that. She worked full-time at the clinic and in the summer when Harry was school free and because of it a lot of the regular household chores fell to him. She loved that he didn't complain about that, not even after twenty-one years of marriage.

"Work was crazy today. So many people having babies and getting ready to have babies. I'm glad I'm not having any more babies."

Harry laughed and leaned over her to kiss her again. "What were we thinking?"

Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning when he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. "That we wanted to celebrate life after the war."

"Good decision." He murmured, nibbling along her neck as he sat her down on the kitchen counter. "I don't regret it. Just think of all the lovely practice it took."

She laughed and arched her head back to give him more access. "Hmm ... I'm just happy we got you fixed." When Harry winced at the memory she laughed and pushed him back. "I can't believe Lore is going to be four this weekend. I swear I just had her yesterday."

Harry grinned and nibbled at her earlobe. "I can't believe Jay, Brig, and Aub have graduated. I feel old."

Ginny smiled at that and kissed his cheek. "You are. You're thirty-eight, ancient."

He laughed. "Minx." His hand slid under her shirt, inching upwards as he nibbled on her neck again.

"Mmm," she murmured. "This probably isn't the best time or place, Mr. Potter. We have many young children who could walk in at any moment."

Harry's hand fell away but his lips met hers for a long, deep kiss that left her breathless. She tugged him closer again when he pulled away. "One more."

He grinned and kissed her again.

A soft cough made them both turn around. Arthur was standing in the kitchen doorway, pointedly looking away, his ears burning.

Ginny giggled, pushing her husband away and hurrying over to hug her father. It didn't matter that her and Harry had been together for twenty-four years, married for twenty-one, Arthur Weasley would forever be embarrassed to walk in on such a scene. "Daddy, what are you doing here?"

Arthur held her tight, holding on. "I just wanted to see you, baby girl."

Ginny kissed his cheek as she pulled back, looking at her father in concern. She knew something was going on between him and her mother but she hadn't been able to pinpoint it and it bothered her. They had done some sort of spell to block her empathic powers from view and it worried her every time she saw them. What could they possibly be hiding from her? But neither one of them seemed to be willing to let her in on the secret.

"Well, I'm here. Is Mum here too?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, no, she's at home."

"Have a seat, Dad. You can join us for dinner. We're having stew." Harry replied, gesturing to the table.

Arthur took a seat, folding his hands on the table. "Thanks, that sounds great. But I told Molly I would be home for dinner."

Ginny put a hand on her father's shoulder and her eyes met Harry's for a moment. The spell blocked her powers from knowing the problem but she knew something was happening. Her father looked ... crushed. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Arthur wasn't sure what it was about his daughter but she always made him realize how much he needed to talk. Tears began to fall from his eyes before he could stop them and he buried his face in his hands. Ginny quickly fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her father as he sobbed into her shoulder.

Merlin, he needed to tell her. It was too much for him to keep in alone and he knew that Molly didn't want the children to know, but he needed them. He needed their support in what he was going through. Molly was his life and when she was gone, he would be alone.

He needed his kids.

He needed Ginny.

He pulled himself together and pulled away, wiping tears from his eyes. "Sorry about that."

Harry placed a glass of firewhiskey in front of him. "No problem."

Arthur smiled at Harry and took a drink, the liquid burning his throat. He rarely drank whiskey so he knew he must look bad if his son-in-law was handing that to him. "Thanks."

Harry and Ginny both took a seat at the table now and Ginny reached over to take one of her father's hands in hers. "Daddy, tell us what's going on. You and Mum have had some spell blocking me out for months now. I'm not stupid and I'm seriously worried now."

He nodded and took another sip. He knew she was worried. Ginny had been pestering him for months about the spell. "Molly wanted to use the spell. She doesn't know I'm here and if she did ... she would probably kill me. She made me promise not to tell any of you. But now ... things have changed and I need your help with something, Harry."

"Of course, anything." Harry answered, staring at his father-in-law in concern now. It was rare to see Arthur serious.

Arthur's eyes met his. "I need to borrow some money."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing he had expected. "Sure. How much?"

Arthur's face fell in relief. He should have known that Harry would say yes without any questions asked. "You are too good to our family."

Harry smiled now. "I think I'm entitled. You're family was always entirely too good to me even before Ginny and I were involved."

Arthur nodded. "Molly's always wanted to go to Paris and ... I can't afford to take her. But we have our fiftieth anniversary next week and I think it would be the perfect present."

Ginny grinned at that, squeezing her dad's hand in her own. "It is. Bill and I were talking about that a few months back actually." She looked over at her husband and he nodded. "It's actually your anniversary present, from all of us."

Tears welled up in Arthur's eyes again. "Thank you. I had no idea. Molly will be thrilled."

Harry smiled. "She'll love it. Bill and Fleur helped plan a nice itinerary for you of places that they think are worth seeing. Ginny and I chose the cottage for you to stay in. Ron and Hermione picked out some good restaurants. Charlie and Emma arranged the traveling. Percy and Penny researched important muggle sites you might be interested in. Fred and Angie were in charge of all the travel arrangements in Paris and got all of your subway tickets and what-not for when your not in the magic world. George and Katie took care of what you should bring. It's all been arranged."

Arthur nodded. He hadn't expected such an elaborate present but he should have known. "It sounds perfect. Thank you."

He stood up and Ginny took his arm. "Daddy, what is going on? You would never get so emotional over not being able to bring Mum to Paris. What is it? What aren't you telling me?"

Arthur closed his eyes. It was now or never and Merlin knew he needed it to be now. "I can't keep it in anymore. I don't care how angry Molly gets." He took a deep breath and his eyes met his daughter's before he blurted it out. "Your mother has breast cancer and none of the treatments have worked. She has two months left according to the healers."

Ginny's hands covered her mouth and Harry's arms came around her from behind. "What? Are you sure? How long have you known?"

"Six months."

"How could you not tell us this? What is wrong with you?" She demanded, her eyes flashing.

Arthur bowed his head. The anger in his daughter's voice cut him like a knife. He had never kept anything like this away from her before. "I know. But she made me promise, Ginevra. She didn't want you kids to worry. They didn't catch it in time and we knew the treatments would be a miracle if they worked, but we had to try. No one else knows, baby girl."

Harry sat his chin on his wife's shoulder and squeezed a little tighter. "Gin, come on."

She wiped the tears from her eyes just as the front door slammed shut. She trembled at the sound and Harry kissed her cheek before moving into the other room.

Aubrey and Sam were standing in the entranceway kissing softly. Harry cleared his throat in a similar fashion as Arthur just had. He wasn't embarrassed though, more annoyed. It still surprised him to see how much his first born daughter had grown. They broke apart. "Hi Daddy."

Harry smiled at daughter. "Hey sweetheart. Can you and Sam do me a favour?"

Sam nodded, his eyebrow rising slightly. "Sure, Professor."

Harry grinned now. "Sam, for the tenth time. You graduated. You can call me Harry. At one time you even called me Uncle."

Sam blushed a bit. "Right."

Aubrey brushed a curl out of her face and looked questioningly up at her father. "What's going on, Dad?"

Harry sighed and glanced towards the kitchen. It wasn't the right time to break the news to the kids. "Grandpa's here and he needs your mum and I for a bit. I have stew cooking on the stove, it should be ready in about twenty minutes. Can you make sure everyone eats?"

Aubrey nodded, eyeing her father carefully. He had always been a terrible liar. Something serious was going on. "Yeah, of course. Is Grandpa okay?"

"He'll be fine. We'll be in my study, but please don't disturb us, alright?"

Sam nodded, taking Aubrey's hand in his own. "Sure. Brie and I will take care of everything."

Harry smiled. "Thank you."

"Dad? Sam and I need to talk to you after, okay?" Aubrey replied, a small smile on her face.

Harry nodded, too distracted to notice his daughter's eyes light up at the words. "Of course, honey."

He headed back into the kitchen and tugged Ginny out of the kitchen chair. "Come on, let's go into my study. Aubrey and Sam are going to make sure everyone eats."

Ginny nodded and pulled herself together so as not to alarm her own daughter. Arthur followed them into the study and closed the door behind him. Harry placed a silencing charm on his door.

"Alright. We're alone now. We need to figure this out." Harry replied, running a hand through his unruly black hair.

Arthur took a seat on the small love seat in the corner. "There's nothing to figure out, Harry. Molly's dying. The cancer has spread throughout her body. They didn't catch it in time and now the potions aren't even working. Operating is even moot now." He replied, his voice dry and sad.

"Are you sure she's been taking the potions? I heard it makes you lose your hair and Mum still has a nice head of it." Ginny replied, starring at her father as if she was saying 'please let it be a lie'.

Arthur nodded, his eyes sad as he looked at his daughter. "She did. She's been very careful to transfigure wigs around you guys. She doesn't have any hair left."

Ginny let out another sob and Harry squeezed her hand gently. "Oh God!"

"Dad, is there anything that Ginny and I can do? Do you guys need anything done?" Harry asked. He felt helpless asking. There was literally nothing he could think to do and it hurt knowing it.

Arthur shook his head sadly. "No, there's not. Thank you for asking though. The Paris trip is more than good enough."

Ginny moved into her father's arms, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Are you going to tell everyone else?"

Arthur shook his head. "I can't. I promised I wouldn't."

She pulled back for a moment. "Screw your promises, Dad. This is important. I'll tell everyone else."

Arthur nodded, his eyes a little relieved. He was hoping that she would take upon that task herself and ashamed for backing out of it. "Thank you." He hugged his daughter close again and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She kissed his cheek and smiled at him through her tears.

"I should get going. I don't like to leave her alone too along. I'll see you guys on Friday for the party then?"

Harry nodded. Fifty year anniversary ... Poor Arthur. "Yeah, see you then."

They watched him leave and heard the front door close. Ginny stayed where she was, trembling. Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her close, resting his head on the top of hers. "I'm so sorry, baby."

She began to sob again and snuggled closer so that Harry simply picked her up and carried her over to his desk chair, cradling her in his lap. "It just doesn't seem real, Harry. How could I not have known? I knew that they were keeping something from me, but I didn't even bother to dig deeper into it! What's wrong with me? I'm a horrible daughter!"

"No, Gin. You can't blame yourself for this. They used a spell to make sure. Babe, your mum is probably really emotional right now and we both know how family ties connect to your power. You would have been just as much as a wreck as her which is what she didn't want. She's obviously scared and she doesn't want to worry her children. I can't fault her for her choice."

Ginny nodded, moving back to look into her husband's face. "It's going to be so hard to tell my brothers."

"Do you want me to come with you? We can leave Aubrey and Sam here with the kids?" Harry asked, gently brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

Ginny shook her head. "No ... I need to do this on my own. Thank you." She kissed him softly and hugged him tight before she stood up. "I'm just going to clean myself up and I'll head out."

Harry nodded. "If you need me, I'm here."

She smiled at him from the doorway. "I know."

Harry watched her go, a sad look on his face. He headed back into the kitchen and grimaced a little when he saw his daughter straddling her boyfriend in the kitchen chair and kissing him deeply. He cleared his throat and went to check on the stew.

"Is everything alright, Dad?" Aubrey asked, moving off of Sam's lap.

Harry nodded. Other than the fact that he had just had a very disturbing thought that his daughter was probably having sex ... sure everything was fine. "Yes, everything's fine. Your mum is just going out for a bit. This stew is done, can you tell everyone it's ready?"

Aubrey nodded, her hand tightly in Sam's. "Sure. Daddy, can you catch Mum before she leaves? I really need to talk to both of you."

His eyes met hers and he nodded. She still had that half smile on her face as if she knew something secretive. "Of course." He wiped his hands on the towel and headed upstairs. Ginny was in the bathroom splashing cold water on her face. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her.

She turned and jumped at the sight of him. "Oh, you scared me."

He smiled. "That's a first, you must have been deep in thought."

She smiled and moved into the bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and a blouse to change into. She had yet to change from her work scrubs. "I was. What's up?"

"Aubrey says she needs to talk to the two of us before you go. Can you come down for a minute?" Harry asked.

Ginny nodded and then froze, her hands on her bra clasp. "You don't think -?"

"Think what?" Harry asked, his eyes frozen on the clasp. "That your torturing me at the moment? Yes, I do."

She rolled her eyes and undid her bra, grabbing a new one from the dresser. "No, you prat! Aubrey and Sam ... you don't think their engaged, do you?"

Harry paled slightly. "But ... But ... but their only eighteen!"

Ginny smiled as she buttoned her blouse. "We were younger when we were married."

Harry's eyes moved to the doorway. "Do you think?"

"I don't know. They're pretty serious, Harry." She finished zipping her jeans and gave her hair a quick fluff. "Let's go find out."

They headed back down the stairs and into the kitchen where Aubrey was dishing out the stew to everyone. Jay and Brig were the only ones not home at the moment. Aubrey grinned when she saw her parents.

"Thanks Mum! I know Daddy said you were on your way out." Aubrey replied.

Ginny smiled at her daughter. She could feel the excitement raining off her daughter in waves as well as the love she felt for Sam. She had definitely known it was coming. "Not a problem, Brie, you know that. So what do you need to talk to us about."

Aubrey grinned and tugged her parents into the hall, closing the kitchen door a little. She wanted to tell her parents before she told her siblings. She turned to look at Sam and grinned before she blurted out the news. "Sam asked me to marry him and I said yes."

Ginny smiled and pulled her daughter close, tears in her eyes again. "Oh baby, I'm so happy for you!"

"Married?" Keegan exclaimed, spitting out his milk from the kitchen. He craned his neck a bit to try to see his sister in the doorway. "Is she crazy?"

Cierán elbowed him in the ribs. "Dummy, shut up! Look how happy she is."

Gwen rolled her eyes at her brothers. "She's so lucky. Look how dreamy Sam is."

"Shh," Rhiannon murmured, "I'm trying to hear what their saying!" She moved back from the table and snuck over to the wall to listen more carefully.

Aubrey hugged her mother tightly. "I'm so happy! We're going to wait a year or two before we actually get married, what with Sam studying to be in the Wizengamot and all, it seems like the best decision."

Sam nodded. "But we're going to move in together in a couple of weeks."

Harry's eyebrow rose slightly at those words. Marriage was one thing, but to actually have his daughter leave the house that soon scared him. It also really made him suspicious of them having sex and he didn't want to think about that. "Oh."

Aubrey smiled and hurried into her father's arms, kissing his cheek. "Quit thinking and be happy."

Harry grinned at that. "I am happy for you, I'm just surprised." He hugged her close. "Congratulations, Princess."

Aubrey grinned and looked over at Sam. "We're looking for a flat in London at the moment. We haven't told Draco and Delilah yet."

Sam nodded. "Aubrey wanted to come here first."

"Wise decision." Harry held his hand out to Sam. "Congratulations, Sam. You take care of my daughter or I'll have to hunt you down and kill you."

Sam swallowed slowly at those words. He knew that Harry was definitely capable of doing it. "I will, sir, I promise."

"Good." Harry said.

Ginny smiled, tears still in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you, honey." She kissed her daughter's cheek again.

Aubrey smiled up at Sam. "Thank you."

Harry grinned at them. "Why don't you guys go eat some dinner and share the news with your brothers and sisters? I'll see your mother out."

They nodded and headed back into the kitchen. Ginny turned to hug her husband. "At least some good news came today too."

He kissed her softly. "Yeah, it did. And why are you always right?"

She laughed and kissed him again. "Hmm, and I would have thought you'd have learned that by now." She picked her purse up off the table and turned to smile at him. "Alright, I don't know how late I'm going to be. I'm heading to Ron's house first."

Harry nodded. "Take your time."

He watched her go and he sighed. The news today was just troubling and heart-breaking all around. He only hoped that his wife was able to hold it together.


	5. Telling the Weasleys

**Chapter V - Telling the Weasleys:**

**Ginny** took a deep breath before she knocked loudly on Ron and Hermione's front door. Granger pulled it open and grinned at her. "Hey Aunt Ginny, come on in!"

She smiled at her nephew. He was the spitting image of Hermione but he definitely held his father's height at nineteen. He towered over her. "Hi Granger, is your dad home?"

Granger nodded, grabbing a crisp from the bag in his hand and pointed towards the common room. "He's in there yelling at Connor and Rose. Their fighting again."

Ginny laughed at that and headed into the common room. Ron and Hermione's youngest seemed to be constantly at each other's throats the last few years.

"Give it back! Daddy, Connor keeps taking my things!" Rose screamed, tugging on her broomstick. At eight years old, she was definitely a pro at wrapping her father around her finger.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Connor, I'm not telling you again, leave your sister alone!"

"She started it!" Connor whined. He was nine and he knew Rose's skill when it came to Ron and he resented it.

Ron glared at them. "Enough! Or you are both going to bed early!"

Ginny laughed and Ron turned at the sound. "I see it's hectic here." It was nice to see that it wasn't only her children who were crazy.

"Welcome to my life. What are you doing here?"

Ginny sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets. She definitely did not want to talk about this more than once. She only hoped that she was able to hold it together until she had all of her brothers in one place. "I need to talk to you. Is Hermione here?"

Ron nodded, eyeing his sister carefully. She looked odd to him. "Yeah, she's cleaning up dinner."

"Okay, can you come out with me for a while?" She asked.

Ron's eyes met hers and he was surprised to see such a serious light in them. "Sure." He headed into the kitchen where Hermione was washing the dishes and Harper was drying them. Harper looked a lot like his mother as well but he had his father's eyes and ears and Ron had a feeling he might adopt the same height. He was a little gangly now and awkward with it. Ron sympathized with him over it.

"Hey Mione, I need to run out for a few hours. Ginny's here and she says she needs me to go out with her for a bit. Something's going on."

Hermione turned to look at him. "What?"

Ron shrugged, his eyes moving towards the common room door. "I have no idea. But her eyes are serious and that rarely happens."

Harper grinned at his father. At fifteen, he was growing like a weed and his voice squeaked a bit when he spoke. "Aunt Ginny can look pretty serious when she's angry."

Ron laughed. "Well, she's not mad today which is a good sign. She's scary when she's angry."

Hermione smiled at him. "Okay, I'll see you later."

He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Love you."

Harper made a gagging sound and Ron cuffed his fifteen-year-old-son gently across the head making his wife smile.

"I love you. Tell Ginny I said hi."

Ron nodded and headed back into the common room. "Alright, let's go."

Ginny nodded and they headed outside.

"So where are we going?"

"Fred's." Then she disapparated.

Ron appeared next to her outside of their brother's door. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Ginny shook her head. She was afraid if she started talking she would break. "I can't. I can only go through it once."

Ron nodded, taking her arm and turning her around to look at him. "Is it bad?"

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes. "Yeah." She knocked on the door and smiled at Fred's youngest son, Jesse. Jesse had Fred's grin and his mischievous glint in his eye but he looked more like his mother otherwise. "Hi Jesse."

"Hey." He led them inside and into the common room where most of the family was situated. Andy wasn't living at home anymore so Ginny was surprised to see him sitting next to his mother on the chesterfield.

"Hi Andy." She leaned over to kiss his cheek. She couldn't believe he was twenty-one already. He was so handsome and so much like his father it unnerved her. Andy was literally Fred except for his darker skin tone.

"Hi Aunt Ginny, hey Uncle Ron."

Fred grinned at them from his chair. "Surprise, surprise. What's up you two?"

Ron shrugged and leaned against the chair his brother was in. "No idea, but we need you to come with us."

Angelina's eyebrow rose. Her gaze moved between Ron and Ginny. "Go where?"

"To George's." Ginny supplied. "I need to talk to all of my brothers ... alone."

Fred shrugged. The light that glimmered in his sister's eyes was missing and it worried him. "Alright. You okay Lina?"

Angelina nodded, the concern in her husband's eyes after he looked at his sister worried her. "I'm fine. See you later."

Fred kissed her goodbye and headed outside with them. "So really, what's going on?"

Ron shook his head, leaning closer to his brother to whisper. "I really don't know. Gin says she only wants to tell it once and that it's serious."

"Black?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "No actually serious, dimwit!"

Fred grinned. "Oh, right. Is everything okay with Harry and the kids?"

Ginny nodded, wringing her hands together nervously. "Yeah, we're all fine. Actually, Aubrey and Sam announced their engagement tonight. Their moving in together as soon as they find a flat."

"Wow, congrats! Looks like you might be a grandmum soon."

Ginny glared at him. "Now is not the time, Fred."

The three of them apparated to George's and knocked on the door. Katie answered with her granddaughter Maggie in her arms. She was three months old and so beautiful.

"Hi, you guys, come on in."

Fred smiled down at Maggie. "Man, I still can't believe that your a grandmum."

Katie smiled, kissing her granddaughter's cheek. "Well, Jimmy surprised us all by marrying Emily so young."

"He's twenty-one. Besides, Gin here was just saying Aubrey and Sam are engaged."

Katie grinned, cuddling Maggie closer to her. "Oh, that's great news."

They followed her into the living room where George was talking to his daughter-in-law Emily.

"Look who's here, George."

He turned and smiled at them. "Hi guys."

Fred nodded. "Sorry to pull you away from your granddaughter, Forge but we need you to come out with us for a few hours."

"Is something wrong?" Katie asked, handing Maggie back to her son.

Ginny took Fred's arm in hers. "I just need to talk to George, to my brothers alone."

George frowned at his sister. She looked like she was barely holding it together. His gaze moved to Ron and Fred who both shrugged. Ron and Fred both glanced at their sister with a worried expression and George stood up. Something was definitely going on. "Alright." He said goodbye to his family and followed his sister and brothers outside. "So what's going on?"

Ron shrugged. "We don't know, but its important. Percy's?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah."

Twenty minutes later all six of them arrived at Bill's front door. Bill answered and Ginny took one look at him and burst into tears. He didn't even need to say anything. Charlie picked her up into his arms and carried her inside, lying her on the chesterfield. Bill shooed everyone else out of the living room and knelt in front of his sister.

"Firefly? Are you alright?" She began to sob and Charlie pulled her into his arms, trying to sooth her.

Bill turned to his brothers. "What the hell happened to her?"

Ron shook his head. "We don't know. She came to me first and said she needed to talk to her brothers, that something serious happened but we don't know what. She only wanted to go through it once."

"It can't be about Aubrey and Sam being engaged," Fred murmured. "She seemed happy about that news."

Bill shook his head as he watched her work to pull herself together. It was definitely something else. "No, that's not it."

Fleur came back into the living room with a glass of brandy and handed it to her husband. "I'll be upstairs if you need anything." She hurried out of the room and Bill held the glass to his sister's lips and she took a few sips.

The brandy helped. She choked a bit on the taste and pushed herself back from Charlie, taking a seat on the chesterfield. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Shortstop. What's going on?" Charlie asked, wiping a tear from her eye. He took a seat next to her and slipped his arm around her so that she could rest on his shoulder.

Ginny looked up at them and she knew why her mother didn't want them to know. They would all be as heartbroken as she was. "Dad came over tonight."

They all took seats around her and she smiled. They were always there when she needed them. She reached out to take Bill's hand in hers and Fred took her other hand. George sat on the other side of her, his arm around her as well. Ron's hand touched her knee and Percy's her arm. It was as if they all knew she needed the contact.

"You can tell us, Gin. Whatever it is, you know that." Fred said quietly.

Ginny nodded and took a deep breath, her gaze meeting George's. "He was acting strange. He asked Harry and I for money to take Mum to Paris and then he started crying. I don't know the last time Dad cried."

Charlie's gaze shifted to Ron and his arm tightened a bit around his sister. "I do."

Ginny nodded in understanding. Her father had been a wreck when Ron had been kidnapped by Voldemort and held prisoner. It was the last time he had cried that they knew about. "We calmed him down and we told him about the Paris trip as their anniversary present. He said Mum would love it. It didn't seem to cheer him up though so I demanded to know what was wrong. He told me that Mum had made him promise not to tell any of us."

"Tell us what?" Percy asked, his forehead wrinkled in concern.

Ginny closed her eyes. "I've known they've been keeping something from me. They've had a spell on the house and on them to stop my empathic powers from going through." She turned to Charlie. "Emma and I talked about it because she couldn't feel anything either."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, I remember her mentioning that. She said that they were keeping something from us. It had to be about six months back though."

Ginny swallowed slowly. "Six months ago is right. Mum got sick and she made Dad promise not to tell any of us."

Fred paled a bit and stood up. "Sick?"

Tears began to roll down Ginny's cheeks again. "She has breast cancer. She's been undergoing treatment for the past six months, but Dad says it's not working anymore. He said she lost all of her hair and has been hiding it from us. He said that the healers gave her two more months to live."

When she began to cry again it was the only sound in the room.

"This can't be happening," Charlie said softly. He pulled Ginny closer and she sobbed into his chest.

Bill nodded. "Is Dad positive?"

"Yeah, he is. I told him that I would tell you guys and he looked so relieved. He could barely get the words out to me. As every word came out it looked like it was finally sinking in to him."

"There's nothing we can do?" George asked, dragging both of his hands through his hair.

Ginny shook her head. "No, nothing. She's dying, George. Mum's dying."

Her brothers all moved closer to her and the seven of them sat in silence, hoping to offer the other comfort that they couldn't give.


	6. Fifty Years Together

**Chapter VI - Fifty Years Together:**

**Molly** stared at her husband in shock. She couldn't believe that he had actually went behind her back and told their daughter what she had desperately not wanted her children to know.

"Arthur, how could you? We're about to celebrate fifty years together and this is how you repay me?"

Arthur shook his head and took his wife's hands in his own. "No, Molly, listen to me! I know you didn't want them to know, but I needed them to know. I couldn't keep this secret alone anymore, it's too much. I needed someone to lean on. I needed my daughter."

Tears welled up in Molly's eyes. "Arthur ... I just don't want them to look at me the way you look at me."

"What do you mean?" He asked in alarm, bringing his wife's hands up to his lips. "I love you, Molly. Your children love you and they deserve to know what is happening to you and what is going on. Don't you think?"

She shook her head and moved into her husband's arms. "No. Now they're going to look at me differently, treat me differently. I don't want to be thought of as sick. I want them to treat me the same. You know Ginevra went out and told the boys."

He nodded. "She told me she would." He held his wife close in his arms and sighed, breathing in the smell of her hair. He was happy that Ginny had taken that step for him. Just telling his daughter had been hard enough. He was pretty positive he would have broken completely if he had been forced to tell his sons as well. He kissed the top of Molly's head and moved back just enough to look into her eyes. "The party this afternoon will still be wonderful, dear."

Molly sighed and rested her cheek against her husband's. She knew it would be. Ginny had always been a wonderful planner and so good at making sure that everything was taken care of. "It will be beautiful. I'm glad we get to celebrate fifty years. It seems like a good last celebration for us to have."

Tears poured down Arthur's cheeks as he held his wife close. It hurt to think that this would be their last celebration together. He needed for her to understand why he had broken his promise. "This is why I needed to tell Ginny, Molly. I need someone to be there for me as I say goodbye. When you go ... It will only be the kids who I have left."

Molly reached up and placed a hand on her husband's cheek. She understood that but she didn't want to talk about it. She knew that she was going to be gone within a few months but she knew Arthur would be alright. Their children would take care of him. "It's not time to say goodbye yet, Arthur. We'll both know when that time comes and when it does ... we'll figure it out then."

He nodded and kissed her softly. She was right. For now, he was going to enjoy the life they had together. "Come on. Let's go celebrate."

**Ginny **paced nervously in front of the stage where the band was set up to play. She hand't been able to bring herself to speak to her mother or to make any move in her direction. She had thrown herself into party arrangements to prevent herself from bursting into tears. Every night she had fallen into bed exhausted with Harry's arms around her and she had cried until she had slept. Then another day would happen and she would start all over again.

Her brothers had been a big help as well. They had't really been as involved in the party planning as she had hoped for, but after the news had been heard, they had really pulled through. The seven of them had all worked together to make sure that the party was a great success. She smiled at the sight of it. They had done a good job.

An arm fell around her shoulders and she turned into her fifteen-year-old-son's arms. Cierán was already taller than her and seemed to be growing taller by the minute. He kissed his mum's cheek and held her close. His parents had told them all the news this morning and he knew that his mother was taking it very hard. For himself, he didn't think it had really sunk in yet.

"Everything looks great, Mum. Grandmum and Grandpa are going to be so impressed!"

Ginny kissed her son's cheek as she pulled back to look around. "It does, doesn't it?"

Sixteen-year-old Keegan came up along the other side of Ginny. "Man, there are so many people here! I didn't realize they knew so many people."

Ginny smiled at her son, moving to slip her other arm around Keegan's waist. "You wait until you celebrate fifty years of marriage and you tell me how many people you know. Besides, look how many people are family."

Keegan squeezed his mother's hand. "True. Are you going to be okay, Mum? 'Cause Cierán and I were going to go find some people but we can stay with you if you need us?"

Ginny sighed and pulled them both into her arms. "I'm going to be fine, boys. Thank you. I love you." She kissed both of their cheeks just as Harper approached and made gagging noises.

"Aunt Ginny, gross!"

Ginny smiled at her nephew and tugged Harper Weasley to her, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I love you too, Harper."

His face was red when she pulled back, but he quickly masked it and tugged his cousins away leaving Ginny alone in front of the stage. She wrung her hands together as she looked around. She wanted everything to be perfect. It had to be extra perfect because it would be their last. Her eyes turned at the sound of her parents' names.

Molly and Arthur walked in, hand in hand, smiling at everyone who had come to help them celebrate. They looked wonderful and Ginny smiled at them. Her mum even looked good. She had obviously used a glamour and Ginny couldn't blame her. She deserved to look perfect on today of all days. She understood her mother's vanity and she even understood why Molly hand't wanted to tell anyone. It had to be hard to know that you were dying. She crossed her arms in front of her and sighed.

"I'm still in some kind of shock." She whispered quietly when Bill's arm came around her.

He nodded, his eyes glued on his mother. "I am too. I finally found the words to tell Fleur this morning. I just couldn't get the words out. I guess by getting them out it made it seem too real."

Charlie came up on the other side of Ginny and took her hand in his. "I know. Emma knew as soon as I got home. I actually cried." He looked up at his older brother as if waiting for that brotherly look of disgust at the thought of tears.

"I haven't cried yet."

Charlie simply nodded and squeezed his sister's hand. "You did a fantastic job on the place though."

Ginny smiled at that. "I've been trying to stay busy. You were both a lot of help as well. Thanks for that."

Bill nodded. "We needed to keep busy too. Did Fred and George come through?"

"Yes. Fred created those centerpieces there that sing Mum and Dad's song when you touch the orchids." She smiled as she looked over at them. "They turned out much more beautiful than I expected. George handled the band."

"Good. What about Percy and Ron?" Charlie asked.

"Ron helped me do the decorating and Percy handled the invites and the R.S.V.P.'s. It was a lot of help. I needed the help just as much as I needed to stay busy." Ginny explained, taking her hand out of her brother's to brush her bangs out of her eyes.

"I'm not dead yet, you know." Molly exclaimed, causing all three of them to turn around. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't want your father to tell you for exactly that reason. There's nothing any of you can do and I just want to spend my days enjoying life and enjoying my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Is that too much to ask?"

Ginny moved into her mother's arms, burying her face on her mum's shoulder. "I love you, Mum. You deserve all of that and more."

Molly's arms moved around her daughter and she squeezed tightly. She was trying to stay strong, but she knew it was taking a toll on her family and that made it harder. "Thank you. I love you, too." She kissed Ginny's forehead and smiled at her. "I am so proud of you."

Ginny smiled and hugged her mother tighter. "I'm not ready to let you go, yet."

Molly laughed and returned the hug. "Good, because I'm not ready to go yet." When Ginny moved away she smiled at her two oldest sons. "You're not going to start crying on me are you, boys?"

Charlie and Bill grinned sheepishly. "No."

Charlie moved first and hugged his mother, kissing her cheek. "But we are going to miss your nagging."

Molly cuffed him across the head. "Oh you!"

Bill lifted her right off her feet and swung her around in a circle.

"Put me down, William!"

Bill grinned and stood her back on her feet. "You look beautiful, Mum."

She smiled and tugged him down so that she could kiss his cheek. "Thank you. Now are you three done?"

Ginny laughed at that. "I guess. This is going to be a great night."

"Good. Then let's get this party started!" Molly replied, making her children smile. It was going to be a wonderful night and she wanted to enjoy herself.

After all, it was their last celebration.

**It **was six weeks later when they had gotten the news. She had died quietly in her sleep. Arthur hand't been able to wake her in the morning. It was the way she would have wanted to go but it hadn't made the pain any less. As the family stood around her grave, the wind in their hair they knew that she was still with them.

Harry squeezed his wife's hand gently and she turned to him, her eyes glimmering in tears. "She's better now, in a better place."

Ginny smiled up at her husband. "I'm sure she is." Her eyes moved up towards the sky. She didn't know what happened after death. She didn't know if there was really some supreme being who brought people to paradise but it was a nice story and she wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe that her mother would watch over her, be her guardian angel. So with her heart crying that it was true she smiled at the sky and whispered, "Watch over me, Mum."

Then she turned and left the cemetery, her heart a little lighter and ready to have a celebration to honour her mother.


	7. The Wedding

**Chapter VII - The Wedding**:

**Two years later …**

"**Harry!** Will you get a grip on yourself?" Ginny demanded as she pushed her pacing husband down onto the bed before she straddled him to keep him still. "If you don't stop moving around this room I'm going to jinx you!"

Harry grinned up at his wife, his hands moving down to pinch her bum. "Promise?"

Ginny laughed. "You're incorrigible!" She kissed him softly. "It's going to be beautiful, Harry, stop worrying."

He sat up, tugging his wife with him so that she was snuggled a bit closer in his lap. "She's getting married in just a few hours."

Ginny nodded. "Yes, she is. Aubrey and Sam are so in love, Harry. Don't forget that."

"They're too young."

Ginny's eyebrow rose. "They're twenty and we were married at sixteen and seventeen."

"I don't care."

Ginny laughed just as the knock sounded on their bedroom door. "Come in."

Cierán grinned. "Uncle Draco and Aunt Delilah are here."

Harry nodded. "Okay." He sighed and kissed his wife softly. "Does she really have to be a Malfoy?"

Ginny laughed. "You love Sam and you and Draco have been friends for years, Mr. Potter. Nice try though."

Harry just sighed. It was going to be a long day.

**Harry** grinned at Draco when he stepped into the room, his hand out. "I've been restraining myself from killing your son."

Draco snorted as he shook hands with Harry. "Understandable. Never thought I'd see the day that my son would marry your daughter."

He laughed. "Tell me about it! Aub's been in love with Sam since she was twelve years old. It's about time he smartened up and proposed." He sighed as he dragged a hand through his messy hair. "I'm just not ready to give my baby away yet."

Draco smiled at his friend. Even after all these years, it still jolted him to know that this man was his friend, his family. "I know the feeling. I already decided that Miriam is never allowed to marry. I'm going to start asking Sirius for pointers."

Harry snorted. "I don't know about that. His daughters all get around him a bit too easily. Keira's married now and her and Dan have made Sirius grandparents … not to mention the fact that my son still can't keep his eyes off of Aurora. I wish that girl would give him the time of day at some point … time flies."

They both turned at the sound in the doorway where Ginny and Delilah stood.

"Are you boys done arguing now? Our children are waiting to get married." Ginny said, a smile on her face.

Harry nodded. "They're not children anymore."

"Amen to that," Draco murmured. They grinned at each other and then headed out of the room. Neither one of them really prepared to give away their children.

**Harry** stood outside of his daughter's dressing room door taking deep breaths. He wasn't sure if he was ready to go in there just yet. Aubrey was his little princess, his little angel … how could he give her away? He didn't really care how much she loved Sam or the fact that she was twenty years old … he wasn't ready yet and that was all that mattered!

He turned at the sound of his name and smiled at his father-in-law.

"Hi Arthur."

Arthur gave Harry a sympathetic smile before he patted him on the back. "It's hard, isn't it?"

Harry made a move to argue but then just sighed. "Yeah."

Arthur chuckled softly. "I remember the feeling. My baby girl, so in love with you and no matter how much my heart told me I was happy for her, I didn't want to give her away just yet."

"'I loved her first'," Harry murmured. "That's what you had told me. I said she was all yours and you told me 'if only she still was'. I didn't understand what you meant at the time."

Arthur smiled. "But, you do now. Now you understand what I went through … that little miracle in there … you loved her first but now you have to give her to Sam."

Harry swallowed. "Yeah … he makes her happy."

Arthur grinned. "Doesn't mean you can't hurt him if he hurts your daughter?"

Harry laughed. "Good to know. Thanks Arthur."

Arthur reached over to pull Harry close for a hug. "Give Aubrey a kiss for me."

Harry watched his father-in-law hurry off. Losing Molly had been hard on him. He lived alone now in the Burrow and fiddled with his muggle things. It had taken time for him to jump back to his regular self but he was getting there. He had grandchildren who visited and teased him. Harry knew that the highlight of Arthur's days was when his grandchildren came over. Especially when they took him on muggle adventures. It was something he enjoyed and looked forward to.

He sighed as he thought about his father-in-law, he suddenly understood completely how Arthur felt the day he married Ginny and he wasn't sure how well he liked it. It made him uncomfortable even though he knew and accepted that Aubrey was desperately in love with Sam and that he felt very much the same. He closed his eyes for a moment before he stepped into the room. His eyes met the emerald green ones of his daughter and he grinned. She looked incredible. She had decided to wear her mother's wedding dress with the Prewett veil. She took his breath away.

"Princess … you look amazing."

Aubrey blushed as she turned in a circle to show off the dress. "It fits perfectly. I just wish I could look as beautiful in it as Mum did."

Ginny chuckled from beside her daughter. "Sweetie, you look much more beautiful than I ever did." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "Sam's eyes are going to be all over you."

"And his hands," Aurora murmured from next to them. She was the Maid of Honour. She excused herself from the room to give Aubrey alone time with her parents and to get away from the evil glare Harry had shot at her when she uttered those words.

Harry watched Aurora leave before he turned to grin back at his daughter. He didn't want to think about his future son-in-law's hands being all over his daughter. He pushed the thought aside and looked back over at his baby girl. "My beautiful princess … you take my breath away." He stepped towards her and held out the black velvet jewellery box. "This is for you to wear today."

Aubrey took the box carefully as Ginny reached over to take her husband's hand in her own. She opened the box and gasped. Inside was the beautiful diamond and emerald teardrop necklace that her mother had worn most of her life. "Daddy … I can't."

Harry smiled at her now. "But it will match your eyes."

Ginny laughed, tears in her eyes as she kissed her daughter's cheek. "We both want you to have it, Aubrey. It's yours now."

Aubrey giggled as Harry clipped the necklace into place. "Thank you."

Harry grinned up at her. "You're welcome."

They turned at the noise in the doorway to where Jay and Brig were goggling at her.

"Shite Brie, you look good," Jay murmured.

Brigham nodded. "Sam is going to be impressed."

Aubrey laughed before she threw her arms around her brothers. "I love you guys, you idiots!"

"Hey!" Jay exclaimed. "I take offence to that!"

Brig grinned. "I don't." He kissed his sister's cheek. "I love you, Brie."

Tears welled up in Aubrey's eyes. "I love you, too."

Brig and Jay turned to look at their parents now.

"Mum, Da," Jay began. "We just thought we'd tell you that Brig finally convinced Aurora to go on one date with him."

Harry laughed. "Practice makes perfect, Brig. Make sure you impress her."

Brigham blushed. "I will, Da. It's going to be perfect."

Ginny was looking at her eldest son now, a knowing look in her eyes. "James …"

Jay grinned. "We were going to wait, it being Brie's big day and all but … I asked Jordan to marry me and she said yes."

Harry's eyes widened. "Congratulations!" He hugged his son and kissed his forehead. "When's the wedding?"

"Da!" Jay murmured.

Ginny kissed her son's cheeks. "I'm so proud of you."

Aubrey tugged Jay into her arms next. "Congratulations. Will you announce it during the reception?"

Jay shook his head. "Oh no, Aub, today is your special day. We're going to save it."

Aubrey shook her head. "No, you won't. You can make my special day even better by making the announcement."

Jay grinned and kissed his sister's cheek. She always understood him so well, sometimes better then he understood himself. He couldn't believe that she was getting married. "Alright. If that's what you want."

Aubrey smiled at him. "It is."

The triplets grinned at each other before turning to their parents. "Let's get Brie married," Jay and Brig exclaimed at the same time.

Aubrey grinned. "Yes, let's."

**Harry** sat in the front row, his wife's hand in his as he watched his daughter exchange vows. She was pronounced Mrs. Aubrey Malfoy and they hurried down the aisle, hand in hand, big smiles on their faces. He felt his wife kiss his fingers and he turned to grin at her, tears in her eyes.

"She's all grown up, Gin."

Ginny grinned up at him. "I love you, Harry Potter. Thank you for giving me all of these wonderful moments with you, thank you for everything."

Harry grinned back at her. They had been married for twenty-two years now and it still felt like new. He turned away from his wife to watch his daughter hug and kiss her grandparents and a tear rolled down his cheek. He had never imagined being so happy or having such a wonderful family. His life had always been focused on Voldemort and nothing else and now twenty-two years after he had killed Voldemort and he had never been so happy. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he turned back to his wife.

"No, Gin, thank you."

Then he brought his lips to hers …


	8. Author's Note and Family Tree

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone!

Thanks for reading the Beginning series. I hope that you enjoyed it. This is just another family tree that applies for chapters two and three when Harry and Ginny's triplets – Aubrey, Brig, and Jay – are in their seventh year at Hogwarts. I also just gave a list of professors for Hogwarts since I mentioned these people and I wanted their subject to be known to prevent confusion. Anyway, enough rambling – I hope this helps!

Thanks again for reading!

Cheers,

~ Breanie ~

Professors at Hogwarts

Professor Harry Potter – Transfiguration

Professor Sirius Black – Defence Against the Dark Arts

Professor Alexis Black – Ancient Runes

Professor Lily Potter – Muggle Studies

Professor Rubeous Hagrid – Care of Magical Creatures

Professor Severus Snape – Potions

All of the same professors otherwise

James and Lily Potter

Harry James Potter (37)

Lyra Lilah Potter (27)

Elizabeth Rose Potter (21)

Evan Andrew Potter (20)

Harry and Ginny Potter

James Remus Potter [Jay] (17)

Sirius Brigham Potter [Brigham] (17)

Aubrey Lily-Rose Potter (17)

Keegan Arthur Potter (15)

Cierán William Potter (14)

Gwendolynn Molly Potter [Gwen] (11)

Rhiannon Nymphadora Potter [Rhi] (11)

Rory Andrew Potter (9)

Flynn Ronald Potter (7)

Aidan Charles Potter (6)

Alexander Evan Potter (5)

Lorelai Hermione Potter (3)

Sirius and Lexy Black

Keira Ginevra Black (21)

Dakota Julianna Black (20)

Aurora Nataleigh Black (17)

Ariel Christine Black (15)

Jasmine Hermione Black [Jazz] (13)

Bryan James Black (12)

Remus and Tonks Lupin

Daniel James Lupin (21)

Adam Theodore Lupin (20)

Austin Sirius Lupin (18)

Katarina Lily Lupin (15)

Bill and Fleur Weasley

Henry William Weasley (20)

Philippe Arthur Weasley (19)

Louis Charles Weasley (17)

William Harry Weasley [Will] (16)

Jean-Paul Ronald Weasley [J.P.] (14)

Kendrick Thomas Weasley (13)

Ryan Frederick Weasley (11)

Tristian George Weasley (9)

Shane Kingsley Weasley (8)

Amberlynn Ginevra Weasley (6)

Charlie and Emma Weasley

Robert Arthur Weasley (20)

Kalen Oliver Weasley (18)

Timothy Albus Weasley (16)

Michael Harry Weasley (13)

Kyle William Weasley (12)

Jason Ronald Weasley (9)

Justin James Weasley (9)

Percy and Penny Weasley

Preston Arthur Weasley (24)

Paul Percival Weasley (24)

Scott Ronald Weasley (21)

Travis William Weasley (18)

Fred and Angelina Weasley

Andrew Harry Weasley (20)

Blake George Weasley (18)

Christopher Ronald Weasley (17)

Ethan William Weasley (15)

Eric Charles Weasley (15)

Holden Arthur Weasley (13)

Ian Fred Weasley (11)

Jesse Lee Weasley (9)

Frederica Angelina Weasley [Freddie] (7)

Georgiana Molly Weasley [Georgia] (7)

George and Katie Weasley

Jameson Frederick Weasley [Jimmy] (20)

Tyler Arthur Weasley (18)

Matthew George Weasley (16)

Nathaniel Harry Weasley (13)

Lance Lee Weasley (11)

Logan Lee Weasley (11)

Mario Christopher Weasley (9)

Mitchell Charles Weasley (6)

Ron and Hermione Weasley

Granger Ronald Weasley (18)

Patrick William Weasley (17)

Harper Jonathon Weasley (14)

Toby Charles Weasley (11)

Connor Arthur Weasley (8)

Rose Serena Weasley (7)

Draco and Delilah Malfoy

Samuel James Malfoy (17)

Dillon Jonathon Malfoy (15)

Devin Draco Malfoy (13)

Foxworth Albus Malfoy [Fox] (11)

Miriam Lily Malfoy (8)

Seamus and Lavender Finnegan

Carrick Patrick Finnegan (18)

Sean Murray Finnegan (16)

Deidre Mary-Margaret Finnegan (14)

Cordelia Parvati Finnegan [Delia] (10)

Dean and Parvati Thomas

Roxanna Padma Thomas (12)

Kareem Darius Thomas (9)

Dana Anderson

David Theodore Nott (20)

Drusilla Dana Nott (20)

Blaise Zabini

Joseph Blaise Zabini (20)

Frank and Alice Longbottom

Neville Longbottom (37)

Victoria Alice Longbottom [Tori] (21)

Neville and Luna Longbottom

Zackary Frank Longbottom (18)

Ava Alice Longbottom (15)

Severus Snape

Sabrina Adelia Snape (20)

Hogwarts (the kids at school when Aubrey and Sam are Head Boy and Head Girl):

First Years:

Ryan Weasley (Gryffindor)

Ian Weasley (Gryffindor)

Lance Weasley (Gryffindor)

Logan Weasley (Gryffindor)

Toby Weasley (Gryffindor)

Gwen Potter (Gryffindor)

Rhiannon Potter (Gryffindor)

Fox Malfoy (Slytherin)

Second Years:

Bryan Black (Gryffindor)

Kyle Weasley (Gryffindor)

Roxanne Thomas (Gryffindor)

Third Years:

Jazz Black (Gryffindor)

Ken Weasley (Gryffindor)

Mike Weasley (Gryffindor)

Holden Weasley (Gryffindor)

Nat Weasley (Gryffindor)

Devin Malfoy (Slytherin)

Fourth Years:

J.P. Weasley (Gryffindor)

Harper Weasley (Gryffindor)

Cierán Potter (Gryffindor)

Deidre Finnegan (Gryffindor)

Fifth Years:

Ariel Black (Gryffindor)

Katarina Lupin (Gryffindor)

Ethan Weasley (Gryffindor)

Eric Weasley (Gryffindor)

Keegan Potter (Gryffindor)

Dillon Malfoy (Slytherin)

Ava Longbottom (Ravenclaw)

Sixth Years:

Will Weasley (Gryffindor)

Tim Weasley (Gryffindor)

Matt Weasley (Gryffindor)

Sean Finnegan (Gryffindor)

Seventh Years:

Aurora Black (Gryffindor)

Louis Weasley (Gryffindor)

Chris Weasley (Gryffindor)

Pat Weasley (Gryffindor)

Jay Potter (Gryffindor)

Brigham Potter (Gryffindor)

Aubrey Potter (Gryffindor)

Sam Malfoy (Slytherin)

Jordan Fanshaw (Ravenclaw)


End file.
